Driven to Win
by Fabulous Cars Crazy Fudge
Summary: Fudge is a human girl, who dreams of being a racer, but has been forbidden from doing so by her older surrogate brother, Lightning McQueen. With the arrival of the Next Gens and being torn between helping Lightning and her new-found friendship with Cruz Ramirez, can Fudge face the new challenges and maybe even make her dream come true? Read on and find out. My OC, Fudge, in Cars 3.
1. Piston Cup Life

**Ka-chow! I got a brand new story for you all! *Fanfare* As it says in the summary, this is Fudge in _Cars 3_! Yay!**

**I was going to wait until I finished _Ride_, but I just couldn't. I wrote _Ride_ to help you understand a couple of things in this one. One of those things is the accident Fudge has, which I feel like you've got the basic idea of now. And the other one doesn't show up for a while in here, so I figured I might as well post it. There shouldn't be _too_ many spoilers, but there will be a couple (although I don't feel Fudge being okay after the accident is one of them because I made it very clear from the start that she would eventually be okay), so if you wanna hold off till _Ride_'s complete, I totally understand.**

**However, if you don't mind the spoilers (or you'****re reading this in the future, when I've finished posting _Ride_) and you intend to stick around, then I hope you're as excited about this fic as I am! :)**

**Enjoy, guys!**

**Driven to Win**

**Chapter 1- Piston Cup Life**

"Okay", a voice whispered into the darkness, taking deep breaths in order to clear their mind. "Here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed." The speaker imagined other race cars whipping around the racetrack at lightning speed. "One winner. Forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast." This was followed by more visualisation of fast race cars.

"Uh, Fudge?" a new voice piped up. "What are you doing?"

Fifteen-year-old Fudge Rossi-Topolino nearly jumped out of her skin and opened her eyes in a flash. She felt her face burn when she saw that her surrogate older brother, champion race car Lightning McQueen was parked in front of her in the Team 95 trailer. He was grinning from headlight to headlight and was struggling not to laugh.

"Lightning!" she exclaimed, giggling. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough!" he replied, suppressing a laugh. "What were you _doing_?"

"I was just... seeing what it was like to be a Piston Cup racer", Fudge explained. She grinned at him and added, "It's fun!"

Lightning laughed. "Well, you know what they say", he informed her with a shrug. "Imitation is the best form of flattery." He paused and added, "Shouldn't you be in the pits, though?"

"Yeah, I'll go now." Fudge stood up and grabbed her Rust-Eze racing jacket. The jacket was the exact same shade of red as Lightning's paint job with the Rust-Eze logo on the front; yellow lightning bolts running down the sleeves; a black and white checkered pattern on the shoulders to represent the checkered flag and her name and the number 95 graced the back. She wore the jacket with a red T-shirt with a yellow lightning bolt and the number 95 on the front; the necklace in the shape of a silver star that Lightning had given her on her thirteenth birthday (even though Fudge didn't particularly like jewellery, she made an exception for that necklace because it had meaning behind it); red shorts; red and yellow striped socks that came up to her knees and high-tops that look like Lightning McQueen. Finally, her headset and a red glitter top hat completed the look. This was what she wore to every single race, kind of like a uniform.

"All right. I'll see you in a couple minutes."

"Are you gonna get psyched up for the race?" Fudge teased.

Lightning chuckled. "Something like that."

"Do you need to listen to my Get Psyched Mix?" Fudge had a playlist of upbeat, motivational songs, which she called the Get Psyched Mix.

"Thanks, Fudge-O, but I don't think you and I have the same taste in music."

"I have all _types_ of music, so there's gotta be _something_ you'd like." Fudge shrugged. "All right. It's your call. Just let me know if you change your mind."

He nodded with a smile on his face. "I will. Thanks, Fudge."

"See ya!" Fudge called.

"Yeah, see ya!"

With that, Fudge walked out of the trailer, leaving Lightning to mentally prepare for the race ahead.

"Just call him out in a couple of minutes", Fudge instructed Lightning's driver, Mack, on her way past. "The race is gonna start soon."

Mack smiled. "Sure thing, Fudge."

"Thanks!" Fudge ran as fast as she could to the pits, which wasn't fast, by the way. She used to run pretty fast, but not since _the accident_ (but more about that later).

* * *

"Hey, guys!" Fudge greeted the rest of the team, which consisted of Fudge's adoptive fathers, Luigi and Guido, who were in charge of tyres; Sarge and Fillmore, who were like Fudge's uncles and in charge of fuel. Sally, Lightning's girlfriend and Mater, Lightning's best friend, were in charge of moral support (Fudge, Sally and Mater were his biggest fans!), as were Flo and Ramone, who were also like Fudge's aunt and uncle and had decided to come to this race. Not everyone from Radiator Springs came to every single race.

So, what was Fudge's job in the team? Well, she had one of the most important jobs of all. She was the crew chief and had been for a couple of years now. Her previous job from the age of six to thirteen was the Team McQueen cheerleader and she got her promotion at thirteen. She was a little worried when she'd been given the job because she knew that Lightning had trusted his previous crew chief, the late great Fabulous Hudson Hornet AKA Doc Hudson, with his life. She just wanted to live up to his legacy, but doubted that she was. However, Lightning insisted that she was doing a fine job and he wasn't going to fire her like he did his first three crew chiefs back when he insisted on working alone when he was an inexperienced, self-centred and, let's face it, kind of stupid rookie.

"Hello, Fudge!" Luigi greeted her warmly.

"Is Stickers nearly ready?" Sally wanted to know.

"He's just getting himself psyched up for the race", the human girl reported with a smile.

Sarge looked around. "Where's Mater?"

Right at that moment, they heard a familiar voice shout out from the direction of the trailers, "Hey, everybody, listen up! My best friend, Lightning McQueen, needs quiet! **PERFECT QUIET!**" Several loud honks of a horn followed.

Fudge, Luigi, Guido, Sally, Sarge, Fillmore, Flo and Ramone all looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"I think that answers _that_ question!" Sally proclaimed.

"I guess so!" Fudge agreed with a laugh, pulling on her headset and climbing up onto the crew chief stand.

"Hey, guys!" Lightning called out, joining his pit crew in the pits.

"Hi!" they all returned the greeting.

"You ready?" Sally added.

"Absolutely!" Lightning confirmed determinedly.

"Good!" Fudge proclaimed with a teasing smile. "Because if you _weren't_ ready, I'd send you back to the trailer to listen to the Get Psyched Mix to get your mind right."

"No, no!" he assured her. "I'm ready!"

"If you say so..."

"You better get out there", Sally informed her boyfriend.

"Yeah!" Lightning agreed, revving his engine and leaving the pits with the other racers. He flashed them his lucky sticker. "Ka-chow!"

"Let's go, team!" Fudge hollered, prompting everyone to rush around in order to ready themselves for the race.

"Wish me luck!" Lightning called behind him.

"You don't need it!" Sally informed him.

"Good luck!" Mater and Fudge shouted in unison.

* * *

The race was a very typical one, but that didn't mean it wasn't enjoyable. Lightning was one of, if not, _the_ greatest race car out there. He had won the prestigious Piston Cup a whopping _seven_ times! The only other racer in history to accomplish such an incredible feat was Strip "The King" Weathers. So, Lightning didn't have any trouble overtaking the other racers.

"Nice job!" Fudge declared. Even though Lightning didn't really need any help at this point, she felt she needed to talk every now and then to let him know that she was still there. "You keep this up and you got a good shot at the checkered flag."

"_Thanks, Fudge!_" Lightning responded through the radio, gunning forward.

"Whoo-hoo!" Sally cheered. "Come on, Stickers!" Stickers was her nickname for Lightning. When they first met, he didn't have real headlights. Instead, his headlights were- you guessed it!- stickers. Even though he had gotten real headlights long ago, the nickname kind of stuck, but Lightning didn't mind one bit. He liked being called Stickers, but only by Sally; that was her special nickname for him.

"Pardon me!" came Mater's voice from behind the rest of the team. "Best friend comin' through!" He emerged wearing a yellow lightning bolt hat, which looked almost as big as Fudge! In fact, it knocked _her_ hat clean off her head and knocked her headset out of place. "Go, McQueen! Whoo-hoo!"

Fudge gave Mater a look of mock annoyance as she readjusted her headset, took her hat from Guido, who was handing it back up to her, whispered a thank you and replaced it on her head. Still, she had to smile. Mater was known to sport crazy hats at Lightning's races. Not only were they crazy, but they were big too. As far as Fudge was concerned, dressing up in goofy outfits was half the fun. After all, although she was the only human crew chief and therefore, she had nothing to compare it with, she knew that her usual race day attire was hardly conventional. It was what she wore as the cheerleader.

"Hey, Cal!" Lightning called to one of his closest friends in the competition, Cal Weathers, number 42 for Dinoco, as he sailed past. "Your blinker's on!"

"What?" Cal called back. "No it's not..." He stopped, realising that it had been a trick all along! "Hey! Your... blinker's on!"

This was a standard Cal Weathers reply to jokes. It was the number 19 racer for Octane Gain, who was named Bobby Swift and another good friend of Lightning's, who delivered the line that someone would always use whenever Cal recycled someone's retort back at them. "Good comeback, Cal!"

Fudge couldn't help laughing. _This_ was what she loved about her work life. It most certainly wasn't boring. The races were always fun and the banter between Lightning, Bobby and Cal often left her in stitches.

* * *

The race went on. At one point, Fudge decided she was hungry and sent Mater to get her a hot dog.

"Okay, I want you to pit now", Fudge informed Lightning, her mouth full of hot dog.

"All right, Chief Fudge!" he laughed, coming into the pits. Bobby and Cal followed him.

"Get ready, guys", Fudge instructed the team as she swallowed.

"_Heading into the pits goes Lightning McQueen, Bobby Swift and Cal Weathers!_" the announcer, Bob Cutlass observed. "_These three are fun to watch, aren't they, Darrell?_"

"_You know, Bob_", the other announcer, Darrell Cartrip, agreed with a laugh, "_I can't tell if_ _they have more fun on or off the track!_"

There probably wasn't a single person who knew that either. Not even Lightning, Bobby and Cal themselves.

Meanwhile, Fudge supervised the rest of team.

"Come on, guys!" she cheered them on. "Let's get him back out there!"

Luckily, Guido was the fastest tyre changer in the entire circuit and probably even the world. Lightning was out of there in no time.

"_Finito_!" Guido cried upon completion of changing the tyres. "_Via, via, via_!"

"Getting a car wash too, Cal?" Lightning retorted as he went past the Dinoco pits.

"No!" Cal shouted defensively. "_You're_ getting a car wash, McQueen!"

"Good comeback, Cal!" Cal's uncle and crew chief, The King, delivered that famous line.

So, that was how things went for the next few laps. Joke, joke, joke. Overtake, overtake, overtake. The cars from Radiator Springs were overjoyed that Lightning won the race; not that Bobby and Cal were disappointed. After all, they still got their fun...

After the race, Fudge and Lightning were being interviewed by Shannon Spokes, the RSN (Racing Sports Network) trackside reporter.

"Lightning", she began, "how do you keep your focus racing against Bobby and Cal?"

"I mean, I think the key is we respect each other", he responded casually. "These guys are real class acts."

Fudge nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. I mean, we all like to have our fun, but when it comes down to it, we're all passionate and serious about-"

She broke off with a loud squeal. Both she and Lightning had been assaulted with a fire extinguisher. Well, it had really been aiming for Lightning, but Fudge was unfortunate enough to be in the splash zone. Then, as if it wasn't bad enough, the two were then showered with confetti!

"Hey!" Fudge shrieked, wiping the foam off her glasses, but she was laughing.

"Congratulations, cupcake!" one Bobby Swift taunted as he raced past with Cal and a couple of pitties.

Bobby, Cal and their teams had struck again! It was a tradition for the trio to prank each other after each race, with the winner being at the butt end of said prank! Their pranks had gotten pretty crazy and elaborate over the years. Everything from whoopee cushions to water balloons to a hundred Lightning McQueen plushies to rubber tyres had been used at some point or another. In fact, Fudge could even recall an incident which involved all four of those things! Don't ask.

Lightning spat some foam from the fire extinguisher out of his mouth, trying to rid himself of the taste. "Oh, they're gonna _pay_!" he vowed determinedly.

"Yeah!" Fudge agreed, sputtering a little herself. "They got _me_ too! We gotta come up with something good!"

* * *

"Is that it?" Lightning questioned, moving around to try and look at his whole body. "Did you get it all?"

Guido nodded. "_Si_." He had been washing the foam and confetti off of both Lightning and Fudge. Mack had denied them entrance to the trailer until they were cleaned up, despite Lightning's protests that it was _his_ trailer.

"Well, let's go!" Fudge cheered, racing into the trailer and collapsing onto the bed that had been set up for her in there.

"You all right, Fudge?" Lightning wanted to know, concerned. It had only been recently that the fifteen-year-old stopped taking naps during the day as a result of tiredness from the medication she received after the accident. Not only that, but several months earlier, on her fifteenth birthday, she was hospitalised for nearly three weeks after an accidental overdose on her medication made her _very_ ill (going from being in a _lot_ of pain to _very_ ill wasn't much fun!). So, she was still pretty much exhausted by the time she made it to bed every night.

Fudge nodded. "Yeah. Just a little tired."

"Well, I think we've all had a big day." Lightning came over and stroked her hair. "You should probably get some rest."

"Yeah..." Fudge yawned loudly and lay back in the bed. "Then you know what we should do first thing in the morning?"

"What?" Sally questioned.

"Plan revenge on Bobby and Cal!"

"Yeah, you got a personal vendetta against them now too!" Lightning laughed. "Though, we may not get the chance to prank them for a while. You know, 'cause I win all the races!"

Sarge rolled his eyes. "So modest!"

"You know they can't _hear_ you!" Sally reminded him with a laugh.

Lightning rolled his eyes, still grinning.

* * *

As it was, they got their chance for revenge at the following race at the Rocker Arms International Speedway. It had been a very close race, but in the end, it was Cal who claimed the victory. Celebrations were in full swing for Team Dinoco.

"Go, go, Dinoco!" the pitties cheered, tossing Cal into the air.

"Yay!" Fudge grinned devilishly. "We get to prank Cal today! We _never_ get to prank Cal!"

The others laughed, knowing exactly _why_ they never got to prank Cal.

"Great win today, Cal!" Shannon Spokes congratulated their unsuspecting victim.

"Thank you, Shannon", he replied modestly. "It was a great boost and I was- Hey! Hey!" he exclaimed, realising that his tyres were inflating rapidly.

Everyone laughed and that was when Cal caught sight of the culprit.

"Guido!"

"Peet stop!" Guido twirled his tool triumphantly.

"Ha, ha!" Cal's voice was dripping with sarcasm as he attempted to chase Lightning and Bobby without much luck. "Laugh it up! Real funny!" Unfortunately for Cal, his appearance was then made even _more_ ridiculous by a bunch of Lightning McQueen balloons and the deflation of his front left tyre!

"Wow!" Fudge cried, laughing. "I think the big tyres made you even faster!"

This prompted even more laughter from the group.

Cal groaned. "Come on, guys! How am I supposed to fit in my trailer like this?!"

* * *

"We all ready to go?" Lightning wanted to confirm later that evening as the crew assembled in front of the trailer.

"I think so." Fudge nodded. She looked at her fathers. "We got the tyres, right?"

"Yes", Luigi replied.

"Sarge? Fillmore? You loaded the fuel?"

"Sure did, man", Fillmore confirmed as Sarge answered with, "Affirmative."

"And everyone's here?" The human girl looked around to see if anybody was missing.

"Looks like it." Lightning looked around too.

"Do I need to do a roll call?" Fudge joked.

"I don't think that's necessary", Lightning assured her with a smile. "I think we're all here."

"Then I guess we _are_ ready to go." Fudge felt a little weird taking charge like this, especially with her own family. After all, she was so used to being told what to do. However, if she wanted to be a good crew chief- and she did- then it was something that she was going to have to get used to.

Just as they were filing into the trailer, they heard the sound of metal clanging against other metal and a shout of, "Ow!"

Most of the Radiator Springs race team tried to suppress their laughter while looking at Lightning as if to say, "Care to explain?"

"You didn't reduce Cal's tyres back to normal size?" Sarge guessed.

The stock car laughed. "No!"

"And now, he's trying to get into his trailer?" Sally assumed.

"Yeah!"

"You are _so mean_!" Fudge accused, giggling, swatting Lightning in the door.

"Yeah", he admitted, "but it's funny! Besides", he went on, "I didn't think you'd mind after they got _you_ with the fire extinguisher too."

"Eh." Fudge shrugged. "I don't care what happens to Cal that much."

Everyone laughed.

* * *

Of course, for Fudge and the rest of the gang, the fun wasn't reserved for race day. Lightning would often train in town by racing down by Willy's Butte in Radiator Springs and the others would often watch him. He was set up with Sheriff's radar displaying his speed and Fudge recording it in a notebook. She'd record the date, lap and speed, so it was a good thing that Lightning had no trouble reading her terrible handwriting.

On this particular day, it was her, Mater, Luigi, Guido and Sheriff, who were watching him race. Mater was wearing a ridiculously huge red and yellow wig, Guido and Luigi were dressed up as 95 fans again and Fudge was in her typical race day attire, aside from the headset. She had a notebook and pen in hand.

"Here he comes, Fudge!" Luigi pointed out, even though she could see for herself.

"I'm ready!" she assured him.

Fudge glanced at the radar to check the speed. One-ninety-six. Not bad at all. She jotted down the number in her notebook.

Guido cheered in Italian.

"Keep it goin', buddy!" Mater yelled.

Fudge used to have a lot more fun watching Lightning race. He used to take her _with_ him when he raced laps and not just by Willy's Butte, but on tracks where he raced. The human girl enjoyed that immensely.

So, why didn't they do it anymore? Well, now would be a good time to explain Fudge's accident. When she was twelve, Fudge had been out racing with Lightning when she fell off his roof and was run over. Needless to say, she was hurt quite badly with things like broken bones and serious head injuries and had almost died. Now, she was left with several long term conditions, including:

Scars- a huge one running down her back and across her legs and knees where she'd had rods and screws put into her broken legs. They were still there to that day.

Missing teeth that had been knocked out as a result; six teeth, including her top two front teeth were gone.

Damaged eyesight, which meant that she had to start wearing glasses.

Although she surprised everyone by learning to walk again, she still limped a little and couldn't run too much without the risk of damaging her formerly-punctured lung and dodgy knees.

Frequent exhaustion. The medication had made her sleep a lot and she still got tired.

It may seem like a lot, but considering how bad things had been for her, it was impressive that that was all. It was also impressive how well Fudge came through all of that, even learning how to walk again. Plus, the girl knew that she had been given a second chance at life and did not intend to waste it. In fact, she would even love to be taken for a fast lap, if she was given the chance. However, after what happened that fateful night, Lightning refused to take her again.

"Come _on_!" Fudge would whine every time she was told no. "We've been out racing, like, a million times and that only happened once!"

"Fudge, once was more than enough!" Lightning would insist. "Look, if something like that ever happened to you- or anyone else I care about- again, I'd hate myself even more than I already do! That was really hard for me and you saw how mad Luigi got at me." Then he would stroke her hair and add, whispering gently, "I know you don't remember the accident, but I'll never forget it."

She did. It was no secret that Luigi had been absolutely furious at Lightning. It had taken him _months_ to calm down and apologise, admitting that he had just been very upset about Fudge's accident and felt like he needed someone to blame. The teenager could understand why Lightning refused to take her racing again too. She didn't know the whole story about how her accident had affected him (McQueen suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after that, even refusing to return to the track where it happened, but he never spoke to Fudge about that, in fear of worrying or upsetting her), but she knew that he felt guilty about what happened. She wished that he would stop feeling so guilty. Even though, like Lightning said, she didn't remember the accident, she'd been told what had happened enough times to know the story and didn't blame him for what happened.

"Yeah, I guess you're right", she would have to admit, as much as she wanted to go out racing again.

Lightning would nod. "Thank you. I'm glad you understand." He would sigh and add, "You know I love you, right?"

"I love you too, Lightning."

Then he would smile, give her a hug and a kiss before either leaving or changing the subject.

Fudge tried not to get too upset, though. After all, she couldn't really complain about where she was now. Even though a regular crew chief wasn't the teen's first choice in a job, it was almost as good. Not only that, but she had a loving family, which had grown in recent years (although she still got upset about not knowing either of her biological parents, it didn't bother the girl so much anymore with all of the other incredible stuff going on in her life); excellent friends and so many exciting opportunities and adventures. It wasn't a bad life. It wasn't a bad life at all.

Even so, if given the chance to go out racing again, as unlikely as it seemed, she would probably jump at said chance. Though, little did Fudge know, the chance would come up a hell of a lot sooner than she ever would've imagined...

**How was that for a first chapter? Good, I hope. Please review. Reviews are what motivate me to keep posting, so if you want to see more from me, then you know what to do!**

**Like with _Ride_, I've completely finished writing this one. It has thirty-eight chapters, so it's my longest story in terms of chapters, but not words. So, updates may be relatively frequent.**

**That's right! A bit of a spoiler here. Fudge _does_ become the crew chief. I hope you liked that. I also got the inspiration for the Get Psyched Mix from another Owen Wilson movie! XD**

**Oh, and you may have noticed that since Fudge wears glasses now, I included an updated look for her to the front cover of this story as opposed to the one on the front covers of _Cars Origins: The Sweet Life of Fudge_,_ Our Town: Tales from Radiator Springs _and_ Ride_. I tried to include the missing teeth and scars I mentioned too, but my editing skills suck, so it looked weird and kind of creepy. XD I'll also post ****it to my two Tumblr accounts (fabulous-cars-crazy-fudge and fudge-rossi-topolino), so you can get a better look at it.**

**I guess that's it besides I don't own _Cars_. I do own Fudge and several other characters, who will make appearances in this fic. Mostly, humans, a couple of cars and an animal... Once again, I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	2. Ten Years

**This chapter isn't all that relevant to the rest of the story, but I thought it would be nice to include it, given the time this story takes place in. I guess it also shows that Lightning has come a long way from the cocky, self-centred rookie he was in the first movie, which is what _Cars 3_ is all about.**

**Please R, E and R! Read, enjoy and review!**

**Chapter 2- Ten Years**

A few weeks later, there was a very special reason to celebrate in Radiator Springs. It was the anniversary of a day that had changed all of their lives entirely and for the better too. That day was exactly ten years since Lightning McQueen's arrival in Radiator Springs.

* * *

In the bathroom of Casa Della Tires, Fudge was trying to wrestle a brush through her wet hair. Her hair was curly, so if she didn't brush it after a shower, it got knotted very badly and she couldn't deal with that herself. Being autistic, Fudge sometimes struggled to do basic everyday things for herself. Luckily, her family was always willing to help her out, but that didn't mean that they didn't expect her to try.

Luigi tapped on the bathroom door. "Fudgie?"

Immediately, Fudge became worried. Luigi sounded afraid. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay in there, angel?"

"Yeah, I'm fine", she assured him.

"Is it okay if I come in?" the Fiat wanted to know.

"Sure!"

She knew why he had sounded so afraid. He must've been having a flashback to her fifteenth birthday. At about ten o'clock that night, he was the one who had found her, lying on the bathroom floor after her overdose on her medication, unresponsive and shaking by a puddle of vomit. She hadn't really been with it at the time, but she could vaguely recall Luigi shaking her, shouting, "Fudgie, wake up!" Although, in her state, she couldn't reply. She could vaguely recall his hysterical phone call to the paramedics and him screaming, "Guido! Guido, where are you?!" over and over again.

She must've blacked out for a little while there because the next thing she remembered was Guido covering her with a pillow and a blanket and Luigi telling him to get Sheriff and Sarge (he'd chosen those two because he needed help and the two of them could be calm in an emergency). She blacked out a lot while waiting for Sarge and then Sheriff and a lot after they arrived. The last thing that she remembered was Luigi, Guido, Sarge, Sheriff and a bunch of paramedics staring at her as she was loaded onto the stretcher and wrapped in a foil blanket. Even though she remembered all that, it felt kind of hazy, like a dream. Her vision was blurry, there was an obnoxious ringing in her ears and the voices sounded far away. In fact, the only reason she knew for sure that it really happened was because of everyone telling her what happened when she woke up from a three-day coma.

Anyway, when Luigi came in, he helped her brush his daughter's hair and got the new dress they had bought just for the occasion off the back of the door. It was a simple black, knee-length dress with a collar and big silver buttons down the front. She knew that the others probably would have wanted her to pick a nicer, dressier dress.

"Are you _sure_ that is the one you want?" Luigi had questioned earlier, staring at it sceptically.

"Yes. I'm sure." Then Fudge had hesitated. Obviously, Luigi didn't want her to buy it. "Why? What's wrong with it?"

"There is nothing _wrong_ with it", he had assured her. "It just does not look very special to me, that's all."

"Well, tonight isn't about me, anyway", Fudge reminded him with a shrug.

"Okay. So, you are sure?"

"I'm sure", the fifteen-year-old had repeated.

She was indeed sure; that was the only one she could find that she felt was a decent length and didn't show off her breasts too much. Fudge didn't understand why human girls just became sex objects once they reached a certain age. She sighed, thinking about it as she stepped into a pair of black flats.

"You look beautiful!" Luigi proclaimed when she was ready after he'd had to help her with straightening out her collar and things like that.

She blushed a little, even though she knew that Luigi was always going to say that she looked beautiful, no matter how she looked. "Thanks."

"And are you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

* * *

The celebrations were to take place at the Wheel Well Motel for two reasons. The first was that that was one of the only two places in Radiator Springs where they could gather, the other one being Flo's. The second reason was that if it wasn't for Lightning, the Wheel Well never would've been reopened. So, the motel was decorated brightly and it looked very formal. The plan was to have dinner up there, followed by one of Radiator Springs's signature neon cruises.

"After all", Sally had pointed out, "Stickers was the one who made those cruises a tradition."

So, that was what they did. Ever year, they made an effort to celebrate the anniversary of Lightning's arrival in some way or another. However, this year, they wanted to make sure that it was special since it had been ten years.

"Now, I'm sure you all know what we're celebrating", Sally began. "Ten years ago today, Stickers arrived in town and changed all of our lives for the better."

"Yeah, I did!" Lightning grinned.

"So modest!" Sally teased.

"Well, in all seriousness", Lightning went on, "you guys changed _my_ life for the better just as much as I changed yours. If it wasn't for all of you guys, I would still be a selfish jerk, who wouldn't be able to drift on dirt."

Everyone laughed.

"And just think", Fudge piped up, "if you never came here and put the town back on the map, then I would've been taken away."

That was true. Six months before Lightning arrived, a bunch of social workers had arrived in town, insisting that she be raised by humans and in a larger town, so they were going to transfer her to an orphanage in Wisconsin on her sixth birthday. However, when the town returned to the map, humans started coming through, giving her the social interactions she needed, therefore, allowing her to stay.

"Can you imagine how different my life would be if I _had_ moved to Wisconsin?" the fifteen-year-old continued. "Who _knows_ where I'd be or who I'd live with?"

"I don't want to think about that", Luigi informed her with a kiss. "I am just so glad things went the way they did."

"Me too, but they wouldn't have if it wasn't for Lightning."

The stock car beamed proudly. "Guess I showed up at just the right time then. This place wouldn't have ever been the same if I never got the chance to meet you." He came over and gave her a kiss.

She couldn't help smiling. "Thanks."

"Who would've thought that delinquent road hazard would change our town so much?" Sheriff commented. "You were nothin' but trouble at first. Speedin', crashin' into just about everythin' in your path-"

"And ripping up the statue of Stanley", Sarge chimed in while Lightning just made faces, but he was grinning. Everyone in town loved to tease him about his not-so-gracious arrival in Radiator Springs and Lightning just laughed along with them. Even so, he looked like he wanted to hide under the table.

"That wasn't even half the trouble you caused, boy", Sheriff went on. "You hit on Sally in court, pushed Fudge into a wall and did a terrible job of the road."

"So, Doc challenged him to a race and he crashed into the cacti!" Sally added with a laugh.

Everyone laughed hysterically.

"You know, I still have the bump on my head where I had stitches after you pushed me into that wall." Fudge pointed to it.

Lightning cringed. "Yeah. Sorry, Fudge."

"Well, you _should_ be!" the fifteen-year-old cried. "It _hurt_!"

This prompted more laughter. Pushing Fudge into the wall most definitely hadn't been Lightning's proudest moment and it hadn't been all that fun for Fudge either. The blood, the screaming, the crying, the stitches, the itchiness, the hard glares Fudge would give Lightning for the rest of the day every time she caught him looking at her.

"Are we gonna focus on the good stuff about that week?" Lightning questioned.

"What 'bout when I introduced ya to tractor tippin'?!" Mater suggested with a grin.

"Oh, yeah." Lightning didn't sound particularly enthusiastic. "I'll never forget that. Or the first time I was chased by Frank."

"Nobody forgets the first time they were chased by Frank!" Fudge proclaimed with a giggle.

More laughter.

"What about learning Doc's secret?" Sheriff spoke up.

Prior to Lightning's arrival in town, Fudge was the only one who knew that Doc was a famous race car. Whenever the girl tried to tell them that Doc was a famous race car, he would insist that it was some kind of game between them. Boy, was it a shock to everyone to learn that it was true. In fact, to some extent, all of them had a little bit of difficulty entirely trusting Doc after that. Even so, he was always a well-respected member of the Radiator Springs community and continued to be, even long after his death.

"Yeah, I think that was a surprise for all of us", Sally commented.

"But it was really cool, seeing him race for the first time", Fudge voiced her opinion. "You know, I saw the Piston Cups and the newspaper articles and stuff, but it never actually felt real till I saw him."

"I know what you mean." Lightning nodded.

* * *

All through dinner, they had a long discussion of the highs and lows of the week- including how pleasantly surprised Lightning had been when the RS gang showed up to support him at his big race and how pleasantly surprised everyone else had been when he returned and decided to make Radiator Springs his permanent home. They also discussed the highs and lows they'd been through since then such as Doc's death and the whole World Grand Prix scandal. Plus, who could forget what a challenging, surprising year 2013 had been with Fudge's accident and recovery, Lightning and Luigi's fight, the latter's engine attack caused by stress and grief, Sammy's diagnosis with breast cancer and Fudge's disappearance?

"It _was_ a tough year", Sally stated the obvious, "but the important thing is we all made it through and we all made it through together."

"I don't know if Luigi and I did", McQueen voiced his opinion. "We were fighting a lot that year when Fudge had the accident."

"Yeah, well, you're friends now, aren't you?" Sally pointed out.

Finally, dinner was over and it was time to cruise!

Lightning grinned as they all returned to the dark town. "Hey. Is it getting dark out?"

"What?!" Lizzie called out. "What did he say?!"

"Let me say that again. Is it getting dark out?!" he repeated louder.

"Now, what was I supposed to do after that?" Lizzie wondered, clearly confused.

Red took matters into his own tyres by flipping the radio on. "Sh-Boom" started blasting out and the neon lights flickered on one by one and Fudge switched on her bubble machine. Lightning had wanted to recreate the scene as accurately as possible, but Lizzie had been genuinely confused and forgetful!

And it was a pretty good replica of that incredible night; the _start_ of it anyway, before the press came along and wrecked it. Everyone just cruised under the neon lights, full of joy and hope. As a human, Fudge couldn't really cruise, but she had fun, dancing with the others and on her own. In fact, she had a little _too_ much fun sometimes.

"Take it easy, Fudge!" the others had to call out on multiple occasions when she seemed to get out of breath or moved too fast.

Every now and then, she would have to sit down and try to catch her breath.

"You all right?" Lightning questioned, parking beside her as she sat down on the side of the road.

"Yeah. Just need to catch my breath a little."

"All right. Mind if I join you for a little while?"

"I'd like that."

"You know", Lightning began, "you've changed a lot in ten years."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You've grown up into this amazing, strong, intelligent young woman."

The human girl blushed.

"Hey, I mean it, Fudge", Lightning went on seriously, taking her hand. "You know, when I first came into town and made it my home, I never realised what an impact I'd have on your life. I feel like everyone in this town- including me- has helped raise you-"

"I agree." Fudge nodded.

"So, yeah, I feel proud when I think about how you've grown into this awesome person."

"You mean I wasn't awesome before?" Fudge pretended to be hurt.

Lightning chuckled softly. "You know what I mean."

"I do", she assured him seriously, giving him a hug, which he returned without any hesitation. "Thanks. It means a lot to me."

"I love you, Fudge-O."

"I love you too, Lightning."

The two were silent for a content moment until...

"Hey, Lightning?"

"Yeah?"

"I know this might be none of my business, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I'm just curious..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you and Sally will ever get married?"

The stock car paused. He knew Fudge wasn't trying to be nosy, but was genuinely curious like she said. In their ten years together, marrying Sally had crossed his mind on numerous occasions. However, he'd just never popped the question. After all...

"Not everyone needs to get married, Fudge", he explained gently. "You know, Sally and I have never had doubts that we're committed to each other. I'm happy the way things are. Besides, I've never exactly been in any hurry to propose and get married. You guys taught me the importance of slowing down, remember?"

Fudge nodded slowly, taking his words in. "I can understand that." Well, sort of. The fifteen-year-old didn't have- and never _had_ had- a boyfriend or girlfriend (she was so unsure in that area, she wasn't even entirely sure what her sexual preferences were), so she had no experience or knowledge, but what her brother was saying made sense. "But still, you and Sally are pretty much married already."

Lightning chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Hey, Stickers!" a certain baby blue Porsche called out. "Wanna cruise with me?"

Said race car broke out into a huge grin. "Do you even need to ask?!" He turned to Fudge. "Well, I better go and cruise with my pretty-much wife before Lizzie whisks me off again." Both he and Fudge giggled. "That all right?"

"Yeah. Go. I'm gonna get up now anyway."

"Well, I'm glad we got to talk now."

"Yeah, me too."

"All right." The race car gave her a kiss before driving off to join his pretty-much wife.

Fudge stood up and stared after him. She remembered that night when the town was lit up in neon for the first time in decades and she remembered being blown away and laughing in delight, having never seen anything like that in her life.

"Magic!" she'd exclaimed, giggling as she danced and was spun around. "It's like magic!"

Even now, the human girl still thought it was magic when she saw the town like that, in all its glory. There had been a lot of good and bad that night. Of course, all the good came first and that was what she tried to focus on. Even so, from time to time, she remembered how the press had come and taken Lightning away and Doc had slapped her. That was the first and only time that anybody in her family had ever intentionally hit her. Doc had apologised to her, explaining that he'd only done it in a fit of rage, which wasn't aimed at her, but still, the incident had shaken her up.

But I digress.

As she stared at the neon lights, Fudge thought about how far she'd come since the first time she saw it and decided that Lightning was right. Despite her childlike innocence and still holding that intense love and devotion to the town and everyone in it, she had changed a lot over the last ten years. She knew that came from doing things she never would've even _dreamed_ of doing back then. Being mistaken for an undercover spy, exposing the car behind one of the biggest scams of all time and being knighted for that was something she never would've imagined even having the _opportunity_ to do, let alone _accomplishing_. If someone had told her that night that she'd do something like that, she probably wouldn't have believed them. Her freak accident when she was twelve never would've occurred to her and relearning to walk again after that when doctors weren't sure she'd pull through at all was pretty damn amazing.

Then becoming a crew chief was something she'd always dreamed of doing, but never really expected to happen. Yet, it had and it had given her so many awesome adventures. They had travelled all over the country for Piston Cup races and had even taken Team 95 international! The year after the World Grand Prix, the team attended races in Europe; more specifically, England, Sweden, Russia, Germany, France, Spain and Italy for races hosted by Lewis Hamilton and Nigel Gearsley, Jan "Flash" Nilsson, Vitaly Petrov, Max Schnell, Raoul Caroule, Miguel Camino and Fernando Alonso and Francesco Bernoulli respectively. They'd missed out on the races the following year with Rip Clutchgoneski, Long Ge, Shu Todoroki, Memo Rojas, Jr. and Carla Veloso hosting in their home countries of Republic of New Rearendia, China, Japan, Mexico and Brazil respectively because Fudge was still in the hospital at that point. Still, they made the trip the year after _that_ when Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom had something special in mind when it was his turn to host everyone. He knew how distant his home country was from most places and consequently, this would most likely be their only chance to see it. So, he arranged an entire tour of not only Australia, but New Zealand as well, seeing everything in both countries. And this time, all of the Radiator Springs residents apart from Lizzie had joined them. So had Cal and Bobby since Lightning wanted his local friends to meet his global friends.

Although Fudge knew that she had an excellent life and couldn't really complain (she was even thankful for the bad times; after all, they helped make her into who she was today!), there were three things that she wished she could change. The first was that, even though it was going away gradually, she wished that she didn't care about being abandoned by her mother. The teen had a lot to be thankful in her life, which she wouldn't if she had never been abandoned by her mother, but every now and then, it still hurt. The second was that she wished that she could go out racing with Lightning again, but like _that_ was ever gonna happen.

The third is a little bit complicated to explain. Perhaps you might like to be _shown_ what the third thing Fudge would change about her life is...

**I mention Fudge having an accidental overdose, but even _I_ haven't written about that yet! Maybe it's something I should include in _COTSLOF_ (_Cars Origins: The Sweet Life of Fudge_)!**

**Please review! Like I've said before, reviews are what motivate me to post more stuff. They're kind of like my Cruz Ramirez. Thanks.**


	3. Fudge's Problem

**Half the reason I'm updating this is because I have an announcement at the end, which I am hoping you will all be excited about.**

**By the way, this chapter contains the first of several flashback sequences featured in this story.**

**Enjoy. :)**

**Chapter 3- Fudge's Problem**

Another weekend, another race. This one was in Georgia and Lightning scored yet another victory.

"Yes!" Fudge cheered as he came back into the pits, ready for all the interviews that would surely come his way. "Lightning strikes again!"

"Way to go, buddy!" Mater shouted.

The rest of the team took care of the pits while Fudge and Lightning were interviewed. It seemed like the press couldn't get enough of Fudge either. Well, that kind of made sense, given that she was the world's youngest crew chief and what she'd been through after her accident. Even though those two things really made her fame skyrocket, that wasn't the exact moment that made her famous...

* * *

_When Fudge was six years old, she began to attend Lightning's races regularly. She_ _would always cheer loudly and jump up and down when he came flying past._

"_Go, go, Lightning!" she would scream at the top of her lungs._

_Already, she had the attention of the press for being adorable, but she became really well_-_known after a race in Virginia._

_Lightning had won the race, so of course, everyone wanted to congratulate him and_ _little Fudge was no exception. She raced out of the pits to try and find Lightning to give him a_ _hug. However, he was surrounded by reporters, firing questions at him and fellow racers_ _and_ _pitties, congratulating him._

"_Lightning!" she called out._

_She could hear his voice, but it wasn't aimed at her. "Yeah, it was great to have another win._ _I think the season's going pretty well. I guess that's 'cause I got a great mentor now."_

"_Lightning!" the little girl shouted again._

"_Hey!" a grumpy cameraman barked at her. "Get out of the way, kid!"_

_He gave her a hard shove, sending the human sprawling across the ground._

_Immediately, Fudge started bawling, which attracted the attention of several people,_ _including Lightning._

"_Hey, hey!" he cried gently, rushing forward to the six-year-old. He picked her up and gave_ _her a hug. "What's wrong?"_

_Still sobbing, Fudge told him what had happened._

"_Where does it hurt, sweetie?"_

"_Here. And here." She showed him all of the scrapes she had. They didn't look _too_ bad._

"_Hey, hey, it's all right, Fudge-O!" he whispered soothingly, cuddling her. He continued to do_ _that for a couple of seconds. "You're all right. Yeah? Wanna give me a smile?"_

_Fudge said nothing. _

"_Come on." He launched into the task of tickling the girl till she laughed._

_The press had their cameras focused on them the whole time._

"_McQueen!" Kori Turbowitz called out, gesturing to the human girl, clinging to the famous_ _race car. "Who is this?"_

"_Oh, this is my little sister, Fudge Rossi-Topolino." He gave her an extra cuddle as he tried to_ _explain how he knew Fudge._

"_Fudge?" several cars who heard repeated in surprise._

"_Yeah, because she's so sweet!" Lightning explained._

"_Well, she's really cute", another reporter commented._

"_Yeah, I know."_

"_So, Fudge, what do you make of McQueen's win?!" Kori wanted to know._

"_It was really, really good!" she answered, drying her eyes. "Lightning is the best race car! I_ _love you, Lightning!" She kissed him, melting the hearts of everyone, who witnessed it._

_Reporters continued to ask Fudge question after question about her opinions on the race,_ _how she liked being in the pits for races and the Piston Cup in general. Everyone seemed_ _interested in her, even that jerk of a cameraman who had pushed her over._

"_Is this on TV?" Fudge wanted to know, looking at Lightning._

"_Yeah. Yeah, it is", he confirmed._

"_I'm on TV!" she squealed excitedly. "I'm on _TV_! That's so amazing!"_

"_Yeah. Yeah, it is", the stock car repeated._

_From that day, she became known as Lightning McQueen's adorable cheerleader. Not only_ _that, but she landed quite a few jobs doing commercials. A lot of companies wanted her_ _because she was so cute. So, if people didn't recognise the little girl as Lightning McQueen's_ _cheerleader, they recognised her as the girl from commercials for pizza joints and__ cereals. She really had become a celebrity in her own right._

* * *

Anyway, after dealing with the press at the race in Georgia, Fudge and Lightning went off to check in with Rusty and Dusty.

"Hi, guys!" Fudge called out.

"Hey, Fudge!" the two brothers called out in unison.

"Hey! Are my sponsors happy today?" Lightning questioned.

"Stop winnin' for cryin' out loud!" Dusty ordered jokingly. "We're runnin' out of bumper cream to sell!"

All four of them laughed. Just over ten years ago, Rust-Eze wasn't really struggling, but business wasn't exactly booming either. Now, thanks to Lightning's victories and his sponsorship with them, the medicated bumper ointment company was now a household name and it was no secret that the brothers could hardly believe their luck.

"Hey, Fudge!" Rusty shouted. "We heard your birthday's coming up soon."

The teen nodded. "Yeah, it is. June sixteenth." It was only a couple of days away and she was kind of excited, especially since she was eager to have a nice birthday, which she didn't get the year before.

"How old are you gonna be?" Dusty asked.

"I'll be sixteen."

"Told ya!" Dusty hollered at his brother triumphantly. "My brother said you were turning fifteen! He doesn't even know how old you are!"

"You always _were_ my favourite, Dusty!" Fudge kidded, prompting even more laughter from the group.

"So, sixteen, huh?" Rusty brought the conversation back on track.

"Yeah. I'm getting old, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you're makin' _us_ feel old!" Dusty informed her. "We remember when you were a little kid. Next thing we know, you're gonna be married and have kids of your own!"

Fudge rolled her eyes. She'd heard the rest of her family in Radiator Springs say this kind of thing to her as well. "I don't even have a boyfriend or a girlfriend yet. I'm not really looking for anything right now." She wasn't even sure that she _wanted_ to have children anyway.

"Well, we got you a little somethin'!" Rusty brought forward a wrapped present and envelope.

"Oh!" The human girl was pleasantly surprised by the gesture. "Thanks, guys! You really didn't have to do this!"

"Sure we did", Rusty insisted. "You're part of our team!"

"We would've got you a card with your age on it, but _someone_ thought you were turning _fifteen_!" Dusty added pointedly.

Fudge giggled. She'd always liked Rusty and Dusty. She'd known them since she was five, but didn't really get to know them till she was six. They often made her laugh with their corny jokes and insulting each other. They'd always been genuinely nice to her too. They often looked after her during races when she had fallen asleep and Luigi decided that she should go back to the sponsor tent. There were even times when Fudge had woken up from a nightmare (after she was threatened to leave her family and found out that she was abandoned by her mother as a baby, she became prone to nightmares) and _Rusty and Dusty_ had had to deal with it.

"Well, thanks", she repeated.

"Yeah, thanks, guys", Lightning echoed. "That's really generous of you."

"Lightnin' McQueen!" a familiar voice called out.

Fudge turned around to find a golden Cadillac by the name of Tex Dinoco there. "Hey, Mr. Tex!"

"Howdy, Fudge! How's it goin'?"

"Good, thanks. You?"

"Can't complain."

"Hey, Big Tex!" Lightning greeted him. "How's my favourite competitor?"

"Just say the word and I'll boot Cal off the Dinoco team and replace him with you!" Tex responded with a laugh.

When Lightning had turned down the offer of the Dinoco sponsorship, Tex had assured him that the offer still stood. Yet Cal was signed on and, despite insisting that it was a joke, Tex would always say that he'd drop Cal for Lightning.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Cal deadpanned from his trailer right beside Tex. "I'm right here."

Fudge pretended to look around. "Did you guys hear something?"

Lightning and Tex pretended to look around. "Nope."

For a moment, Fudge tried to think of something else to make a joke about, but decided not to. They all enjoyed a joke at Cal's expense, but more than once, she had taken this kind of thing too far and had genuinely upset Cal, never intentionally. Of course, she would always apologise and luckily, Cal was very understanding and forgiving. Cal was never upset over anything Fudge said longer than Fudge herself was.

"Well, Fudge-O", Lightning grinned at his sister, "what do you say we get outta here?" He scooped her up onto his roof and started driving off with her. "Bye, Cal!" he called after him. "See you next week! Or not!"

"Oh, come on now! I'm jokin'!" Tex assured Cal at his hard glare.

* * *

"I need the bathroom", Fudge informed Lightning about a minute later, sliding off his roof. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah. Go ahead."

"Can you please look after my thing from Rusty and Dusty?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." Fudge ran off.

When she was alone, Fudge began to think and not just about anything; the third thing she would change about her life. She loved hanging out with her family from Radiator Springs and the friends she had in the racing circuit. It was just that, well, she kind of wished she had some friends her own age (after all, it was hard to feel on an equal playing field in their little group when most of them had changed her diapers!), but she didn't. Why was that? Well, she felt like there were three reasons for that:

One, she didn't really know how to talk to other kids her age, which came from a combination of her autism and spending the first six years of her life as the only child she knew. That was why others kids thought she was weird.

Two, after her accident, she became kind of funny-looking with the scars and the missing teeth.

Three, something else, which happened just then...

After she did her business and had come out, the fifteen-year-old found four girls- a pink Corvette, a dark purple Ferrari, a black Mercedes Benz and a blonde human- about her age, maybe a year or two older, crowded around her.

"Fudge Rossi-Topolino!" the Mercedes Benz squealed.

"Yeah?"

"It is, like, so cool to meet you!" the human declared.

Fudge blushed. "Thanks..."

"What's it like working with Lightning McQueen?"

"Yeah. I definitely love it."

After five minutes of talking to them, she learned that the Corvette was Tiffany, the Ferrari was Sophie, the Mercedes was Mikayla and the human was Kelly. They also wanted to know every last detail about Lightning McQueen. That's right. Not _her_. Lightning. And if she got even a little bit off topic, they were right there to inform her.

"Every year, we go to Disneyland the day after the race in Los Angeles", Fudge informed them. "Have you ever been to Disneyland? It's _awesome_! I remember one time, I-"

"Yeah, great", Tiffany cut her off expressionlessly before returning to fan girl mode. "So, what about _Lightning_? What's his favourite food?"

You know, _that_ kind of thing. They had to make sure they learned everything that they needed to know about their favourite famous race car.

And _that_ was the problem. Being a teenage girl who was close to someone very famous had a lot of amazing perks, but it also had a horrible downside. All anybody- mainly within her age group, but older people as well- ever wanted to talk about to her was Lightning McQueen, wanting to know every little thing about him like these three did, but nobody wanted to get to know _her, Fudge_, a_ person_! Of course, she was more than happy to supply whatever information that she could, but was it so bad that she wanted someone to talk to her about _her_ and show interest in _her_ for once?

_Why_ should _they be interested in me?_ Fudge wondered on many occasions. _I'm not a pretty_ _girl or a smart girl or a talented girl! I'm just the otherwise-insignificant girl who knows the_ _famous person!_

All anybody did was use her to try and get to Lightning! They were hoping that, by meeting her, they could become good friends with her and _that_ meant that they got to meet Lightning McQueen. It had been going on for years and she was sick of it.

Not only was she sick of people treating her like that, but she was annoyed at herself. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened and it most likely wouldn't be the last. Plus, why hadn't she _especially_ learned from the absolute worst incident a little over a year ago?...

**I hope you enjoyed that chapter and will leave a review. But first, my announcement...**

***Insert drumroll here***

**I've got good news and bad news: The bad news is that I may not be updating this story for a while. The good news is that's because I'm hoping to return to posting _Ride_ soon! The story my friend wanted to post first (_The Memories We Hold_ by PinkCookie11, which you should check out) has been published. She still wants to get a couple more things out before I start updating Ride again, but I'm hoping that happens very soon!**

**And the good news keeps coming (I hope you think so)! I'm currently working on a fic titled _Happy Birthday, Fudge!_ to go in the short story collection. Here is the summary: "****It's Fudge's eighteenth birthday and the RS gang have a massive surprise party planned. Fudge is gonna love it! There's just one problem. Where is Fudge?" So, keep an eye out for that! **

**Please review. Lately, my stories haven't been getting the reception I've wanted and, as I've said before, reviews are what make me want to continue posting for you guys. So, if you want to see my work continued, then please review. I hope I don't sound pathetic, but this is a two-way street. You guys enjoy reading my work (I hope)! and I enjoy reading your reviews. Thanks.**


	4. Flashback: Zara and Layla

**I was saving this for when I could update _Ride_ (which I'm hoping will be _very_ soon!), but I wanted to tell you guys something and this story seemed like the best place to tell you. What is it, you ask? Well...**

**New rule: From now on, any chapter of any of my stories must receive a minimum of two reviews in order for me to continue with it. I feel like for some of my works, especially this one and _COTSLOF_, there isn't as much reception as I would've wanted and I'm not sure if people are still enjoying my work. So, if you want me to continue, you know what to do. Hey! That rhymes!**

**Remember how I mentioned in the last chapter that this story would have a lot of flashbacks? Well, this entire chapter is one big flashback. It was supposed to be part of the previous chapter, but it got too long, so I made its own chapter. Warning: There will be some implied swearing. As usual, it has been censored out.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4- Flashback: Zara and Layla**

All of her life, Fudge had been home-schooled because the nearest mainstream school was several hours away. Then, when she turned fourteen, Luigi and Guido dropped a bomb on her. They were considering sending her to _boarding school_ for her high school years. They felt like she should have real teachers and the chance to socialise with other kids her own age to give her the best possible chance in her education. Of course, Fudge absolutely did _not_ want to go to boarding school. She brought out every argument she could think of and she had a million reasons why she didn't want to go to boarding school. The girl had no plans to go to college or anything; she wanted to stay in Radiator Springs and as part of the pit crew. She was afraid of how she'd go when she still hadn't _fully_ recovered from the accident. In fact, even though she could walk, she was still using crutches to help her. Luckily, Guido and Luigi were very understanding of her arguments and agreed to keep her at home where she belonged. The only condition was that she had to start going to this youth program in the city twice a week where kids could have help with their homework and got to do fun activities as well.

So, Fudge went to this group on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first session she went, she was just minding her own business as she tried to read _Romeo and Juliet_ without much luck. She had to read it and answer a bunch of comprehension questions, but she didn't really understand the language. So, she was grateful for the many distractions when countless people came up to her, recognising her from TV.

"I am such a big fan of Lightning McQueen!" nearly all of them exclaimed.

For a long time, this was how things went. Everyone was excited to be hanging out with a girl who knew Lightning McQueen, but nobody _really_ wanted to get to know her as a person. Fudge felt like she got along with them all pretty well, but hadn't made a single friend.

* * *

Things really got interesting, though, a couple of hours later. A sleek, black Porsche and a tall, blonde girl wearing lots of makeup showed up to the group. They only seemed to talk to each other and looked at everyone else in disgust. Except for Fudge. The two would constantly look up and stare at her, whispering, nodding and occasionally giggling, making the fourteen-year-old girl feel very self-conscious. She couldn't tell what they thought of her. Oh, God! They were coming over to her. What were they gonna say to her?

"You're Fudge Rossi-Topolino, aren't you?" the Porsche quizzed her immediately.

"Yeah..."

"We've, like, seen you on TV!" the human informed her. "You're, like, so cool!"

"Really?" Fudge felt her face go red. This was the first time that someone said that _she_ was so cool, not Lightning. Sure, she couldn't argue with the people who said Lightning was cool, but it was nice to hear someone say it about _her_.

"I'm Zara", the Porsche introduced herself. "Zara Horsepower."

"And I'm Layla Johnstone", the human introduced _her_self.

Fudge talked to these girls for a long time about interests. It turned out that they didn't really have an awful lot in common, but that was okay. She knew from life experience that opposites attracted. Look at Lightning and Mater. Look at Mater and Holley. And look at Sarge and Fillmore, for crying out loud! These girls seemed nice and interested in her.

Zara and Layla didn't stick around for the entire session. When they left, Fudge was kind of disappointed, but glad that she'd made some new friends. Things became even more interesting when three other girls- a blue Toyota Corolla named Laura, a pale pink forklift with glasses named Brooke and a purple Mini Cooper named Melanie- approached her.

"You're so lucky!" Brooke proclaimed automatically.

"What?" Fudge was puzzled.

"We know those girls you were just talking to. Zara and Layla. They're the most popular girls at our school!" Laura explained. "They never really talk to anybody unless they think they're really cool."

"I wish they'd talk to _me_!" Melanie added.

"Yeah, right", Laura scoffed.

Fudge thought about that. If what Laura said was true, then she could see why they never talked to the three of them. While nice, Brooke, Laura and Melanie seemed kind of nerdy. That didn't bother Fudge, but she knew that they wouldn't be "worthy" in Zara and Layla's eyes. _But why _me_?_ she wondered. Aside from the fact that she was famous, she didn't see anything that made her any more "worthy" than Brooke, Laura and Melanie. Maybe that was it. Probably, but Fudge didn't want to believe that. So, she didn't. She convinced herself that two extremely popular girls genuinely liked her and wanted to be her friend.

* * *

This went on for quite some time. Fudge began to really enjoy going to the youth group. She found the activities fun, the two women running it- Katie, a red Volkswagen Golf and Rachel, a white Beetle- were kind and helpful and she liked hanging out with Zara and Layla. Sure, there were some times she didn't feel like part of the group or was doing the wrong thing like on the Thursday of the third week.

"Hey, Fudge!" Zara called, causing Fudge to look up from the comprehension questions she was answering about the final scenes of _Romeo and Juliet_. "Me and Layla are going outside for a smoke. Wanna come?"

"No, thanks. I don't smoke." Fudge returned to work.

"You _don't_?!" both Layla and Zara asked incredulously.

"Still come with us!" Zara pressed.

Now, Fudge didn't want to. Not only did she not smoke, but she couldn't stand to be around anybody else while they were. Still, she didn't want to tell them that and offend them, so she just shrugged and told them, "I should probably finish this."

For a moment, Fudge thought she saw an expression of contempt on the two girls' faces, but then Layla just shrugged and mumbled, "Okay" before they left.

Despite more than just a couple incident like this, Fudge found that she liked Zara and Layla and enjoyed hanging out with them. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that they started hanging out with them even outside the group. She would go to their houses and a couple of times, she brought them back to Radiator Springs. Zara and Layla were delighted to be invited to the small town and fangirled over Lightning like crazy, squealing, "Oh, my God!" over and over. Even though it meant that they were ignoring her more than just a little, Fudge didn't mind. She knew they were both huge Lightning McQueen fans.

* * *

It was during their first visit into town that while Fudge was in the bathroom and Zara and Layla were off smoking (they had once again tried to push Fudge to join them, but she refused) that the rest of the townsfolk discussed their youngest member's friends. However, what none of them knew was that Fudge could hear them.

"I do not like these girls at all!" Luigi voiced his opinion strongly.

"Me neither", nearly all of them agreed in unison.

"I did not like how they were pressuring my daughter to smoke", Luigi went on. "I know she does not want to, but they are very strong and I am afraid my Fudgie will give into them."

"And did you _hear_ how much they were swearing?" Ramone added. "I don't think I've ever heard the words _f*k_ or _s*t_ so much in my life."

"They _do_ seem like a bad influence", Sarge declared. "Fudge is a very nice girl and I don't think any of us want her ending up like that."

"Absolutely not", came the round of agreements in a nanosecond.

"They don't even seem to really care about Fudge either." That was Flo.

"No they don't, do they?" Luigi mused.

"What are we gonna do?" Lightning quizzed the others with a sigh.

"I don't think there's really anything we _can_ do", Sally reasoned. "Fudge is _fourteen_. She's old enough to choose her own friends."

It was Luigi's turn to sigh. "I suppose you are right. I just hope she is careful."

From her place in the bathroom, Fudge couldn't believe what she was hearing. Or maybe she could; maybe at that time, she just didn't _want_ to believe it. Zara and Layla were _never_ going to turn her into someone she wasn't. And what did Flo mean that they didn't really care about her? Fudge didn't know then, but in a couple of months, she was going to learn and in a very harsh way...

* * *

As a famous race car, Lightning got invited to parties quite often. Every now and then, Fudge would get invitations too, unless they were grown-up parties. The two and the rest of the pit crew got invited to a big party in California and a lot of famous people would be there and not just famous racers, but singers and actors as well. So, when Zara and Layla learned that Fudge was invited _and_ got to bring two guests, they were extra nice to the fourteen-year-old to make sure that they were the ones, just like they did when they wanted her to get them pit passes to the nearest race. Sure enough, they were invited by Fudge. Only that turned out to be the biggest mistake of Fudge's life.

Through each being allowed to bring two guests, all of the RS gang made it to the party in some way or another. A couple of them also brought guests that Fudge didn't know. So, they, Zara and Layla arrived at the party, which was being held in a fancy ballroom with some tables set up for dinner.

"Wow!" Lightning exclaimed softly, looking around at the place.

"This place is amazing!" Fudge breathed.

The others echoed similar comments.

"Oh, my God!" Zara squealed abruptly. "Look at that! No way! Oh, my f*king God! Is that Ed Gearan?!" **(AN: Car-ified Ed Sheeran!)**

"Yeah, it is", Fudge confirmed. She'd met Ed Gearan before; he was very nice.

That was all Zara and Layla needed to hear. They were gone before anybody could even blink. Fudge felt a pang of hurt and confusion, but shrugged it off.

For most of the night, Fudge went around, greeting people she knew like Cal and the rest of the Weathers family, Tex, Rusty and Dusty and getting photos with some of her favourite celebrities, including Ed Gearan and Dusty Crophopper. From time to time, she'd catch a glimpse of Zara and Layla all the way on the other side of the room, taking selfies with just about everyone they could. It had been hours since they'd talked to the girl who had invited them. Okay, maybe they didn't have to spend the entire night with her or anything, but at least check in!

"You all right, Fudge?" Lightning came over and joined her at one of the tables. They had to raise their voices in order to be heard over the sound of "Pound the Alarm" by Nicki Minaj blaring through the speakers.

The fourteen-year-old sighed. "Yeah."

"Something wrong?"

"I'm fine."

"That was a pretty big sigh for someone who's fine", the stock car noted. He looked around. "Where are Zara and Layla?" He hadn't really seen them with Fudge that night.

"Over there." Fudge pointed to them well on the other side of the room, taking selfies with Dusty Crophopper, with whom Fudge had been speaking about five minutes prior.

"Oh." McQueen began to suspect that that was what was bothering her, but decided not to say anything. "Come on. I gotta go and say hi to Francesco. Why don't you come with me?"

"Francesco's here?!" Fudge asked in surprise. She hadn't heard anything about that and she hadn't seen him all night. Even though she never really knew the Italian formula car all that well, after her accident, he always made an extra effort to be nice to her; she knew that her accident had been quite a shock to him, considering that he saw her only a couple of hours before it happened. In fact, he saw her a lot more recently to the accident than anybody in Radiator Springs, beside Lightning.

"Yeah, he's here. I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, though. Come with me. He'll want to see you."

"Okay." Fudge smiled gratefully as she stood and followed Lightning to go and talk to Francesco. At least _someone_ cared about her feelings.

You'd think that was when Fudge knew that she shouldn't be friends with Zara and Layla, but it wasn't. It also wasn't on the way home when all they could talk about was all the famous people they'd met that night and they could only talk about it to each other. Once again, Fudge shrugged it off, but there was no way she could shrug off what happened at the next session of the youth group...

* * *

"Hi, guys!" Fudge greeted the two girls as she entered the study area.

Neither girl looked up from their phones, but the human girl didn't pay much attention to that. She just slid into the seat next to them and opened up her books. An odd feeling took over when Zara and Layla moved away from her. Still, Fudge didn't question it too much. She just started on the work her family had assigned for her: fifteen math problems and reading the chapter in her science book on volcanoes and creating a summary of the information in her own words.

When did Fudge _really_ begin to feel like something was wrong? After everyone had more or less completed their homework, they started a soccer game with Zara and Layla as captains. Even though Fudge couldn't run too much, she was always the first one picked due to her popularity among the other kids. However, neither Zara nor Layla picked her. Pretty soon, she was the only one left.

"Yeah, you're with us." Layla beckoned her forward halfheartedly.

Luckily, Fudge didn't appear to be the only one who was puzzled. Everyone else looked surprised that she hadn't been picked first. Not only that, but neither of them cheered with the others for Fudge. What was going on with Layla and Zara?

Once the game was over (Zara's team had won), everyone came back inside to get some food. So, Fudge grabbed a couple of crackers and a cupcake and tried to find Zara and Layla. They were off in the corner and when they saw Fudge approaching, looked less than thrilled.

"Fudge, f*k off!" Zara yelled while Layla hurled her paper plate at the other human, covering her with hummus.

"Zara!" Katie called out. "Language!" She'd had her back turned, so she could hear Zara, but hadn't seen Layla throw her plate at Fudge.

"Sorry", the black Porsche mumbled, sounding anything but.

Fudge didn't find out what was going on until the session was over and she was using the bathroom. She could hear the door open and voices.

"Did you see the look on Fudge's face when I picked Aaron first?" Zara laughed. "Like, I'm not gonna pick you first every time, Fudge."

"I know!" Layla agreed. "And we won't do it again! Oh, my God! She was so f*king weird! Every time we hung out with her was like f*king torture."

"Sometimes, like, I wasn't even sure if it was worth it. I don't think I would've enjoyed that party without my f*king sanity! You're right! She _was_ weird and she's fugly too!" Fugly! Fudge knew what that meant! F*king ugly!

"It sucks! I'd wanna go to another party like that again, but I don't think I can do it! Another day with _that_ freak!"

"Oh, well", Zara murmured softly. "At least that made the one time special."

Fudge felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. Her family had been right. Zara and Layla had never liked her. Worse than that, they'd _used_ her and, from the sounds of it, didn't think twice about it either! That had been their only goal and she'd let them step all over her! What was _wrong_ with her?! The fourteen-year-old waited until they were gone before she burst into tears. She was hurt, she was embarrassed and she was angry at both them and at herself.

By the time she returned to Radiator Springs and arrived at Flo's, she was still crying. Not only that, but she slung off her backpack and threw it as hard as she could with the loudest grunt she could muster. This prompted all of the questions like, "Hey, what's wrong, sweetie?" and "Fudgie, what happened?" They all crowded around her and gave her hugs, kisses and sympathetic glances.

"I'm not friends with Zara and Layla anymore!" she answered with tears flowing down her cheeks. "I never was!"

Although they all felt sorry for Fudge, all of them were secretly thrilled that she had realised this.

"What happened, baby?" Luigi wanted to know.

"You guys were right! They don't care about me! They just pretended to like me, so I'd take them to races and to that party last weekend!" She told her family about all of the horrible things she overheard them say about her.

Then _that_ prompted soft, horrified exclamations of, "No!" and "Oh, _Fudge_!"

"I know you are upset", Luigi soothed his daughter, giving her a kiss, "but I think even though you have lost something, it was not friends!"

The others agreed.

"Yeah", Fudge sobbed. "Yeah, you're right."

Even so, she was still upset as she climbed into bed, petting Jennyfur, her cat, and listening to "Out of Reach" by Gabrielle. That Thursday, Lightning had dropped her off at the group (of course, everyone was ecstatic to meet her famous brother!) and Fudge had overheard him give Zara and Layla a piece of his mind.

"Fudge is someone I care about a _lot_!" he informed them, seriously and angrily. "More than you can ever imagine and I would do _anything_ for her! And you both treated her like total crap! I can't believe you would just _use_ her like that! That was really low! I hope you know it's your loss! Fudge is such an amazing girl. She deserves better."

The only problem was that both girls were laughing when they walked away, so Fudge got the feeling that the message hadn't gotten through to them.

* * *

From that day on at the group, Fudge hung out with Laura, Brooke and Melanie. They were nice, but they didn't feel like _real_ friends. They'd talk Fudge's ear off about how much they loved Lightning McQueen, which didn't help when she still had a bad taste in her mouth over what happened with Zara and Layla. Plus, for that reason, as much as she wanted some friends her own age, she didn't think she could trust any of those kids again. She wouldn't be rude to them, but she would make herself aloof and avoid talking to them wherever possible. They all thought that _she _thought she was too good for them.

Besides, she was really depressed over what had happened. Over the next few days and even weeks, all she could think was, _How could I have been so_ stupid _to have let this_ _happen?!_ There was nothing that could cheer her up, not even the fact that her fifteenth birthday was right around the corner. Apart from the time she knew she'd have to spend her birthday in the hospital, this was the first time Fudge wasn't looking forward to her birthday. Still, her family were kind and patient with her and the fourteen-year-old was grateful for their love and support.

* * *

Anyway, over a year later, on her way back to the pits in Georgia, Fudge still felt this ache of hurt, anger and shame that was way more than a mere pang. Still, she tried to shake it off. Even though her last birthday had been kind of a dud, she had another one coming up to look forward to and even though she didn't have any friends her own age, she was thankful for the wonderful, loving, caring family she had and the many, many fantastic friends she'd made through working in the Piston Cup circuit. Those were some of the most valuable things to Fudge in this world.

Besides, a lack of friends seemed extremely trivial to the problems that Fudge and the rest of her friends and family were about to face...

**What do you think? Please please _please_ let me know!**

**The next chapter gets back on track with the events of _Cars 3_, so stay tuned for that (I thought it was good that this chapter was more original, though; plus, it's referenced a couple of times throughout the story). However, I'm not sure when I'll get that up because I'm hoping I can get back into posting _Ride_ soon. I know it's been a while since I've done anything with _Ride_, but it is out of my control.**

**Remember, if you want to see more of this story, then please review! Two reviews is all I need to post the next chapter.**


	5. Severe Storm Warning

**I know I keep saying I'm gonna wait till I can update _Ride_, but I've got a new system now. I'll upload a new chapter for this story once a month until either** **I can update _Ride_** **or** **I can't keep going due to _Ride_ spoilers. Since today is the two-year anniversary of when I saw _Cars 3_ at the movies for the first time, I thought I'd do it today.**

**That reminds me! I forgot to mention that, like I did with _Life Could Be a Dream_ and _When Life Gives You Lemons_, I'll be including Easter eggs to the following things in the story:**

**1\. A113**

**2\. The official release date of that movie (in this case, June 16th, which also happens to be Fudge's birthday!)**

**3\. The day I saw that movie at the movies (June 24th; since I saw _Cars 3_ at the movies five times, I'll only do the first one)**

**Yeah, so, keep an eye out for those Easter eggs throughout the story!**

**So, after some of my own stuff, we're finally getting back into _Cars 3_! I hope you enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 5- Severe Storm Warning**

"Ready?!" Fudge cried, preparing to commence her cheerleading chant. "Okay!

_"__Hey! Listen to me! I'm on the mike!_

_"__Whatcha gonna do when the Lightning strike?!_

_"__I said, whatcha gonna do when the Lightning strike?!_

_"__Yeah! Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do_,

_"__Whatcha gonna do when the Lightning strike?!_

_"__Uh-huh! He's on that track! He gonna take the lead!_

_"'__Cause you know damn well that guy is speed!_

_"__He'll get number one, not number two!_

_"__And he's gonna beat the hell outta you!_

"_What's gonna happen when he runs that race?!_

"_Lightning will win fir-irst place!_

"_On the track, he can race, on the dirt, he can drift_,

"_He'll beat both Weathers and Swift!_

"_It's a great race, you'll feel alive_,

"_And guess who'll win, it's ninety-five!_"

Lightning smiled at her. "Thanks, Fudge."

Even though she wasn't really cheerleader anymore, Fudge performed her chant at least once before every race. It was her way of wishing her older brother good luck.

It was a couple of months later and things were going great. Fudge's sixteenth birthday had been a blast, with the town throwing her a huge sweet sixteenth party. The racing season was going well. So, this race at the Copper Canyon Speedway proved to be promising as well. After all, race day always put the teenager in a good mood. Witnessing an amazing display of speed and talent. Giving one of, if not, the best race car out there tips. Enjoying friendly banter with some of the other teams. Laughing at a hilarious prank on the victor of the race.

"Wish me luck!" Lightning revved his engine.

"I've told you, Stickers!" Sally responded. "You don't need it!"

"Go get 'em, buddy!" Mater cheered. As usual, he was wearing a funny hat and this one was Fudge's favourite yet. It resembled a racetrack and even had a toy Lightning McQueen racing around it.

"Good luck!" Fudge echoed. She called out a taunting, "Good luck!" to Cal and Bobby, who merely grinned and rolled their eyes.

As all of the racers made their way towards the starting line, Fudge spotted a new car in the pack. He was mostly black with electric blue decals and the number 2.0 on his sides. He kind of looked like a pack of gum. However, that wasn't what stood out about him. He didn't look like any of the other racers; he looked like a younger, hi-tech race car. In fact, he only looked a couple of years older than Fudge herself, so he must have been a rookie (well, of course; if he was young and Fudge didn't recognise him, then that was pretty obvious!). The sixteen-year-old wondered what he was like as both a racer and a person. She'd have to keep an eye on him during the race. More or less, she knew what to expect from all of the other racers, but she knew nothing about this rookie.

As she climbed up onto the crew chief stand, Fudge scanned her surroundings. As she stole a glimpse at the new rookie's pits, she noticed something- or some_one_ she didn't expect to see.

"Oh, my God!" Fudge exclaimed excitedly.

"_What?_" Lightning asked through his radio as the others gave her quizzical looks.

"Ray Reverham's here!" He was a pickup truck, who she knew was a really excellent crew chief. I mean, he was no Doc, but he was certainly knowledgeable in the sport and could take control of a team.

"_You're kidding!_" Lightning exclaimed.

"Nope. He's the crew chief for one of the rookies."

"_Really? Wow! I can't believe I didn't see him earlier._"

"Probably because you were too busy getting revved up. Now, pay attention! The green flag's about to go down!"

"_Oh! Right! Thanks!_"

The green flag was waved and the race commenced.

"_Boogity, boogity, boogity!_" Darrell Cartrip yelled. _"Let's go racin'!_"

"Who's Ray Reverham?" Sally wanted to know. Since the race had _just_ started, Lightning didn't need too much help just yet.

"He's a really good crew chief", Fudge explained, sliding the headset away from her ears. She gave the others a bunch of specific facts about who he'd worked with and how well they'd done. Needless to say, they were all amazed.

"How do you _know_ all of this stuff, man?" Fillmore wondered. Sure, they'd all learned quite a lot about racing, being part of Lightning's pit crew, but none of them knew _this_ much.

Fudge shrugged with a grin as she returned the headset to her ears. "I'm a massive nerd."

The race wore on. Lightning seemed to be doing really well. Most of the time, he was in the lead, but whenever someone else- normally, Cal or Bobby- was in the lead, he was never far behind. The new racer didn't seem to be doing too well, though. Well, he wasn't doing terribly, but not fantastic either.

* * *

Pretty soon, it was the last lap.

"Go, little buddy! Whoo-hoo!" Mater hollered, looking at the toy Lightning McQueen zooming around the track on his hat. Then he looked to the _real_ Lightning McQueen zooming around the real track. "And big buddy too!"

"_Another great finish in the making!_" Bob Cutlass proclaimed. "_McQueen and Swift nose to_ _nose!_"

"Come on, Lightning!" Fudge cheered, confident that her brother would take home the gold. "You got this!"

"How's the view back there, Bobby?!" Lightning teased.

Bobby laughed. "Well, you better not blink! I'll blow right past you!"

"_The flag is out!_" Bob observed. "_It's the final stretch! McQueen in the lead!_"

"Come on, Stickers!" Sally shouted while Mater's voice boomed out, "You got it, buddy!"

"Okay, let's see what you got!" Lightning called back to Bobby. The trio loved trying to push themselves as much as possible. As far as they were concerned, _that_ was what real racing was all about.

"Whoo-wee!" Bobby exclaimed.

However, Lightning and Bobby hadn't seen what everyone else had seen. The new, hi-tech racer was gradually overtaking the other cars.

"Lightning? A racer's catching up!" Fudge warned him. "It's the rookie!"

"Oh, come on, Fudge!" Lightning laughed off her warning. "He can't be that much of a threat _now_! He was _way_ behind me!"

Unfortunately, though, at that _exact_ moment, before either Lightning or Bobby could blink, the rookie whizzed past them both to claim first place!

"What?!" Mater cried.

"Where did _he_ come from?!" Sally wondered.

"Nowhere, it seems", Sarge replied.

"Lightning had it in the bag!" Fudge wailed.

"Far out, man!" That was Fillmore.

"_Holy cow!_" Darrell Cartrip exclaimed.

"_Whoa, it's Jackson Storm for the win!_" Bob Cutlass declared. "_A huge upset!_"

"_Neither Lightnin' nor Bobby ever saw him comin'!_" Darrell added.

"Told ya", Fudge radioed Lightning.

"_Oh, well_", he responded casually. "_That's just the way it goes. Besides, there's a whole lot more to racing than just winning._"

"_It's one thing to start fast_", the track reporter commented, "_but we haven't seen_ _anyone cross the line with that kind of speed and power since a young Lightning McQueen_ _first arrived on the scene._"

"Who _is _that guy?" Fudge wondered as she shuffled her way through the crowd, trying to find Lightning.

"Don't you know?!" a reporter, who had overheard her, asked. "That's _Jackson Storm_! He's one of the rookies and the one to watch now!" He spoke as if absolutely everyone with a pulse had heard of Jackson Storm.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" was the way Fudge greeted Lightning when she spotted him near the winner's circle.

"No!" he cried. "Of course not! Why would I be mad at you?"

"I didn't see that guy till it was too late! You could've won. I should've-"

"Well, neither did I!" her brother pointed out.

"I know, but-"

"Fudge", Lightning pressed. "Come on. That's just how racing works, remember? You win some, you lose some. You can't take it personally."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Even so, she couldn't help but feel like she let the team down. To some extent, she always felt like that whenever Lightning didn't win a race. Some races made her feel that way more than others and this was one of them.

Lightning knew what she was feeling. "Look, just because we didn't win, that doesn't mean you let me down, all right? It just means this guy was better than us this time, that's all. Second place is still a great achievement. We'll get him next week."

"All right", Fudge murmured softly.

Lightning gave her a kiss on the top of the head. "Don't worry." Then he took her hand and led her through the crowd.

Meanwhile, the victor was being surrounded by reporters, all calling out his name.

"Thank you", he responded to all of them casually. "No, I appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thank you."

"Hey!" Lightning pulled up beside him and Fudge was quick to follow. "Jackson Storm, right? Great race today."

"Wow! Thank you, Mr. McQueen!" Storm sounded nice and polite until... "You have no idea what a pleasure it is for me to finally beat you."

Fudge couldn't believe he'd really just _said_ that. Lightning couldn't either, it seemed.

"Ah. Thanks." That's when he realised Storm's actual words. "Wait." The stock car gave a nervous laugh. "Wait. Hang on. Did you say _meet_ or _beat_?"

"I think you heard me", Storm deadpanned.

Lightning was taken aback. "Uh... What?"

All of a sudden, Storm turned to Fudge, who was still holding Lightning's tyre. "And who are _you_ supposed to be?"

"I'm Lightning's crew chief", Fudge answered proudly. Everyone was amazed when she told them she was the crew chief, especially since she looked _younger_ than sixteen. Although, some were surprised in a good way and some were in a bad way. There were some people who believed that she only landed the job because Lightning felt sorry for her after the accident.

"Oh! I thought you had to at least reach puberty before you could do a job like that."

Fudge fumed. Sure, she was young and looked young for her age, but still.

"Fudge is sixteen!" Lightning pointed out. "And she's more than capable of the job!"

"Her name is _Fudge_?! What kind of name is _that_?!" Storm laughed.

Luckily, that was when a flood of reporters and photographers surrounded the trio.

"McQueen! Rossi! Storm! Can we get some pictures?!"

"Yeah, yeah, come on!" Storm replied, sounding enthusiastic for the first time. "Let's get a picture! You know what? Get a _ton_ of pictures! Because Champ here has been a role model of mine for _years_ now! And I mean a _lot_ of years!" he added, nudging Lightning before driving off, the press following him, while the two Radiator Springs residents were left speechless. "Right? I love this guy!"

His comments struck Fudge as odd. He was speaking as if Lightning McQueen was, like, a hundred or something. Lightning wasn't _that_ old, was he? It was something that she'd never really thought about. I mean, he was the second youngest resident of Radiator Springs, second only to her. Though he _was_ about a decade and a half older than her. Still, that didn't seem too old, compared to the other townsfolk. Then again, as a racer...

"Can you _believe_ that guy?!"

"I know! Who does he think he is?! He was talking to you like you were a hundred or something", Fudge repeated her earlier thoughts. "You're not _that_ old, are you? I mean, in terms of racing..."

"Well, I guess I'm one of the oldest racers here now", Lightning realised, although it hadn't occurred to him until now, as the words were escaping his mouth, "but I don't think that really means anything. Lots of racers have gone on until they were a lot older than me. Like The King. And Chick."

"Yeah. Guess this guy doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Guess not... Well, we're gonna have to work hard to beat him next week", Lightning sighed.

"Yeah, but we can do it!"

"Of course we can!"

Meanwhile, Storm had just approached his trailer and his team.

"I think I touched a nerve", he proclaimed, reversing into his trailer, loud enough for both Fudge and Lightning to hear as loud music blared from the trailer. It could even be heard when the doors had shut and his driver pulled away. Once again, both Lightning and Fudge were rendered speechless!

**Okay. Let me just explain something here. I feel like I've heard a lot of people say that Lightning McQueen is forty years old in _Cars 3_, but that just didn't make sense to me since that would mean he was in his late twenties in the first movie and I'm pretty sure he was younger than that. ****The other thing is I've heard lots of theories on how car aging works, especially with model years. The theory that made most sense to me was that the model year is the year the car turns twenty. Lightning McQueen is a 2006 model and I decided to make his birthday September fifth (Lightning McQueen Day. 9/5. 95), making his date of birth September fifth 1986. Given this part of the movie takes place in late 2016 (according to the audio commentary, a majority of the movie, after the crash, takes place in the last two weeks of February), that makes Lightning about thirty at this point in my version. That seems to make a lot more sense to me. I hope it makes sense to you guys too.**

**Please don't forget to review! Remember my two reviews rule? I need at least two reviews before I'm willing to continue with this story. :)**


	6. The Storm's Impact

**Well, I figured I'd do my monthly upload today, so here I am! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6- The Storm's Impact**

"_Welcome back to_ Chick's Picks with Chick Hicks_!_" an annoying voice rang out on the TV in the trailer. "_I'm your host, former and forever Piston Cup champion, Chick Hicks!_"

"Why are you watching _Chick's Picks_?" a half-asleep Fudge groaned from the bed in the trailer. Like a lot of people, she couldn't stand Chick. He was arrogant, he was selfish and he was never afraid to do whatever it took to win. Plus, he'd made it personal with Radiator Springs when he'd blackmailed then-eight-year-old Fudge into stealing from the other residents for him. Ever since then, she'd always been afraid of him, as well as hating him. She was relieved when he'd retired a couple of years later (he'd only ever won one Piston Cup, but he was never going to let anybody forget it, even though he'd been booed off stage when he received it!), but she wondered exactly which knucklehead at the Racing Sports Network thought it was a good idea to let the debatably least popular Piston Cup racer of all time have his own show and why.

"Ssh!" Lightning hissed at her. "They're talking about Jackson Storm. I wanna hear what they're saying."

"Why?" Mater wondered.

"Because I do! Now, ssh!"

"And you wanna hear what _Chick_ has to say?" Fudge questioned.

"Ssh!" the race car repeated. Then he thrust a notepad and pen at Fudge. "Why don't you take some notes? I wanna remember what they say."

Fudge couldn't help but get annoyed. She was exhausted. Lightning, of all people, knew that she was exhausted at the end of every race. Why couldn't he just do it himself?

"_This just in!_" Chick reported. "_Rookie Jackson Storm slams the proverbial door on_ _Lightning McQueen! Oh, I couldn't have enjoyed it more if I'd beaten McQueen myself. Oh,_ _wait. I_ have_!_"

Of course, he had to show the photo of himself clutching his Piston Cup. Did I also forget to mention that he always had his Piston Cup beside him on the show?

Lightning merely rolled his eyes. He'd beaten Chick way more times than Chick had beaten him. He was just always trying to get under his paint. Sure, it annoyed Lightning, but he was far too confident to ever let it really get to him.

"_But enough about me_", Chick went on, which relieved the RS gang, who were all thinking the same thing. "_Here to tell you_ how _it happened is professional number cruncher,_ _Miss Natalie Certain!_"

"_It's a pleasure to be here, Chick_", the smart-looking ruby car on the TV began. "_And_ _actually, I prefer the term _statistical analyst_._"

"_Right!_" Chick agreed. "_So, who is this mysterious newcomer Jackson Storm and why is he so_ _darn fast?_"

"_It's no mystery if you study the data, Mr. Hicks_", Natalie Certain explained. "_Jackson Storm_ _is part of the next generation of hi-tech racers, unlike the veterans of yesterday._"

"_What, what, what?!_" Chick laughed, gesturing to a photo of Lightning McQueen. "_What?_ _Old-timers like_ this _guy?_"

"You're one to talk!" Lightning mumbled. It was no secret that Chick was bitter that his biggest rival was still racing while he wasn't.

"_Um... right._" Natalie continued. "_Storm achieves his top speed by exploiting the numbers. I_ _refer, of course, to racing data. Tyre pressure, downforce, weight distribution, aerodynamics._ _And Next Gens like Storm are taking advantage. The racing world is changing._"

Fudge had been scribbling furiously, trying to get as much down as possible. The cars and human all exchanged a concerned glance at the idea that the racing world was changing.

"_And for the better if it means my old pal, Lightning, is down for the count!_" Chick joked. "_Am I right, Certain?_"

"_Well, if I'm certain of anything, Chick, it's that this season is about to get even more_ _interesting._"

Sally turned to Lightning. "What are you gonna do?"

He looked puzzled. "What do you mean what am I gonna do?"

"They said the racing world is changing. You're not worried?"

"No! Why should I be?"

"These Next Gen racers look pretty fast", Fudge informed him. She had just Googled "Next Gen racers" on her phone and began reading up on the information there. "They can hold the optimum racing line every single lap..."

"Wow!" Lightning had to admit that he was impressed by that.

"Two per cent lower drag coefficient... Five per cent increase in downforce... One point two per cent higher top speed."

Lightning's eyes widened even more. "Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The sixteen-year-old showed him her phone.

The race car sighed. "Anything else?"

"Let's see..." Fudge scrolled through the information. "Oh! Here's something interesting! It says here they never actually race on real tracks!"

"What?!" _That_ got everyone's attention. "What do you mean?! How do they train, then?"

"Simulators. It says they create a virtual racing experience so real racers never even have to go outside. There's a clip here of Storm on one."

"Simulators?" Lightning choked on a laugh. "Wow! How's _that_ gonna give them the feeling of wind on their hoods or the tyre marbles on the track? That's not _real_ racing!"

"It _does_ seem kind of pathetic!" Sarge voiced his opinion. "These Next Gen racers sound like nothing but a bunch of sissies!"

Fudge shrugged. "Don't blame _me_!" she cried defensively at Sarge's angry tone. "I'm just reading what it says here!"

"No-one's blaming you!" Lightning assured her.

There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to figure out what to say or do next.

"You sure you're not worried?" Sally asked.

"Of course not! Why should I be scared of a bunch of fast guys who don't race on real tracks?!" he scoffed. "Besides, even with all the other stuff, I could use a challenge. Sometimes, racing feels like it's getting pretty easy."

Sally laughed. "I guess so."

"And if anybody can handle it, it's you", Fudge added from her spot on the bed. She sounded ready to drop off any second.

"Yeah, you is the best, buddy!" Mater chimed in.

"Thanks, guys." Lightning couldn't help smiling. He had the best friends he could possibly imagine. It was funny how getting lost in Radiator Springs transformed from the _worst_ thing that had ever happened to him to the _best_ thing that had ever happened to him.

"Still, it sounds like you're gonna have to work hard now, soldier", Sarge commented.

"Oh, of course." McQueen nodded. "You'll help me, right, Fudge? Fudge?"

There was no answer.

"She's asleep?" Lightning assumed.

Mater checked. "Yep."

* * *

"Fudgie?" a voice whispered into the human girl's ear. "Fudgie?"

She opened her eyes to find Luigi there. "Hi..."

"_Buon giorno_!" He gave her a kiss. "McQueen is doing laps by Willy's Butte. He has been down there for a few hours, but he did not want to wake you."

She put her glasses on and saw that it was nine-thirty. She slid out of bed, trying not to disturb Jennyfur, who was curled up asleep in the middle of the bed, got dressed, grabbed her headset, the notebook where she recorded Lightning's speed and a pen and she was out the door.

When Fudge arrived at Willy's Butte, Lightning was ready to go. Well, actually, he was already going strong. He seemed determined to train harder to try to beat Storm at the next race. As she rubbed her eyes to get rid of the last remaining bits of sleep, the sixteen-year-old had to smile. His determination was one of the things she admired most about Lightning.

"Hi!" she called to him, pinging him over the radio.

The race car smiled. "Hey, Fudge-O!"

"I can track your speed for you if you want."

"Yeah, yeah, that'd be great!"

So, she did. However, Lightning couldn't get close to Storm's speed. Lap after lap went by, but unfortunately, Lightning's top speed was one-ninety-six. Fudge frowned at the figures in front of her in worry, but Lightning was perfectly fine with it.

"Hey, come on, it's not gonna happen overnight", he reasoned. "It'll take some time, but we'll get there."

"All right..." Fudge couldn't be sure.

* * *

She was still concerned by the time the next race rolled around. There were a lot more Next Gens than there had been at the last race. Fudge couldn't believe it. It seemed as though the veterans had been tossed out like yesterday's garbage! It was a horrible thought, but she doubted that Rusty and Dusty would do that to Lightning. They respected him way too much.

Still, she couldn't help but worry.

"Morning, champ!" Storm greeted Lightning as they lined up at the start. "How's our living legend today?"

"Uh, still very much alive, thank you." The older race car didn't even try to hide his irritation. "And I would appreciate-"

"You know", Storm cut in, "I can't believe I get to race _the_ Lightning McQueen. In his farewell season."

"What are you talking about?" Lightning demanded.

Instead of answering, Storm drew attention to something else. "Whoops. Green flag. Good luck out there, champ! You're gonna need it!"

The race began.

"**C'MON, BUDDY!**" Mater hollered.

"First things first", Fudge informed Lightning over the radio. "Just ignore that turdwagon and show him how it's done!"

Lightning laughed. "_Thanks, Fudge. I'll do that._"

"Remember, he doesn't know the tracks like you do. This is the only time he uses them."

"_I'll have to remember that too._"

Unfortunately, however, that wasn't enough. A couple of times, Lightning would be in first place, but every single time, Storm would sail effortlessly back into the lead. The RS gang lost count of how many times that happened and couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"These guys are just a challenge, that's all", Lightning insisted, perfectly calm and unfazed. "You don't just run away from a challenge. We'll get him next week."

"Yeah, these Next Gens sure are something else", Bobby, who had been nearby with Cal and had overheard, added.

"I know." Cal nodded, looking anxious. "Pretty soon, every sponsor will wanna get their tyres on one."

The others felt sorry for Cal. They all knew why he was so worried. Even though Tex was only kidding when he made jokes about replacing Cal with Lightning, there was always a part of him that feared that it would actually happen. Now, with the arrival of these younger, faster racers, the Dinoco racer feared being tossed out and replaced with a better race car.

"Well, it's a good thing we've all got such great, loyal sponsors, right?" Bobby commented.

He was trying to remain upbeat and, for the most part, he succeeded. Still, the good listeners in the group picked up on the fact that he sounded like he needed convincing.

Thank Chrysler Lightning was as confident as ever. "Absolutely!"

* * *

As worried as they were about this Next Gen business, they all had to agree with what Lightning and Bobby were saying. There was no way Rusty and Dusty would drop Lightning McQueen or Tex would drop Cal Weathers. The cars from Radiator Springs didn't really know the Octane Gain cars all that well, but Lightning was so sure that everything would be fine.

If things really _were_ going to be fine, they were taking their sweet time to get that way. Race after race, Storm was always better than Lightning. Everyone was talking about this newcomer and the impact he was having on the sport excitedly.

"_Storm's ability to hold that line is like nothing we've ever seen!_"

"_With the arrival of Next Gens like Storm, the veterans of yesterday are dropping like flies!_"

"_Jackson Storm is the future of racing!_"

"_The rookie sensation came into the season unknown, but everyone knows him now!_"

Pretty soon, Lightning- and the RS gang- felt like they couldn't go through a second of their days without hearing something or another about Storm. Jackson Storm this, Jackson Storm that; Jackson Storm, Jackson Storm, Jackson Storm.

Lightning was down by Willy's Butte more than ever. He pushed himself as much as he possibly could, but he was still nowhere near Storm's speed.

"I wonder how Storm would go racing on dirt", Fudge mused as she recorded Lightning's speed with a heavy heart.

"Well, we're not racing on dirt, are we, Fudge?!" Lightning shot back angrily.

The sixteen-year-old felt a pang of hurt when he yelled. She knew he wasn't mad at her; he was just stressed and the citizens of Radiator Springs all knew he got angry when he was stressed. Even so, she was a little upset. So, she felt a lot better when he apologised to her after a couple of minutes.

"I don't think this is working", she declared a couple of laps later as she stared at the list of speeds, none of which measured up to Storm.

"It's gotta work!" Lightning replied and he kept going.

So, Fudge just left him to it, hoping but doubting that it would work.

* * *

It was also worrying at every race, seeing the sea of unfamiliar faces getting bigger and bigger.

"So-and-so's gone!" the veterans and their teams commented to each other frequently.

As more and more Next Gens came, the more and more anxious the veterans got.

Lightning wasn't the only one in Radiator Springs who was feeling the effects of the Next Gens. Fudge found herself being shunned by people who once threw themselves at her. All of the people who constantly came over to her to talk about Lightning McQueen wouldn't even give her a second glance. She stopped receiving commercial and TV work as well. It hurt, but Fudge couldn't really expect anything else.

As much as she hated this Next Gen business, Fudge was pretty happy to see that there were human crew chiefs amongst the rookies and, better yet, one was a woman! Her name was Felicity "Flick" Turner and the guy was Blake Fitzgibbons. Although Fudge had only spoken to them briefly, they seemed perfectly nice. That was when Fudge realised that she shouldn't _hate_ the Next Gens; they hadn't done anything wrong. A sponsor thought they had talent, offered them a spot and they took it. Still, it was pretty hard _not_ to hate them with how much they were changing, especially after what happened at the _next_ race...

* * *

This race had been Storm's ninth consecutive win and- love it or hate it- that was pretty impressive. Not only that, but the next race was the final race of the season, which meant that he had a pretty damn good chance of winning the Piston Cup that year. So, of course, the press were just eating him up.

"Piston Cup winner Chick Hicks here", the obnoxious voice was broadcasted through the entire stadium, "with the racer taking the circuit by storm. Jackson Storm! Another easy win over old Ka-chow. Or should I say _caboose_?! 'Cause he's always in the back, am I right?!"

No. He wasn't right. Even if he didn't win, Lightning McQueen managed to sneak into the top ten for most of the races, which was pretty impressive.

"No, no, no, Chick!" Storm replied. "McQueen is a crafty veteran champ. He's _the_ elder statesman of the sport, you know? Takes everything I've got to beat him."

Sally scoffed from where the RS gang were watching. "What a _jerk_!"

"Maybe some time in Radiator Springs would do him some good", Luigi suggested. "Remember how it changed Lightning."

"He could do with some time in my boot camp!" Sarge voiced his opinion.

"_That_ I would love to see!" Fudge declared with a grin.

* * *

Lightning, who was also watching nearby with Rusty and Dusty, groaned. "You gotta be _kidding_ me!"

Just then, the press began bombarding Rusty and Dusty with questions.

"What changes are you gonna make to get McQueen back on top?"

"Will McQueen try new training methods?"

"Is he prepared to retire?"

The poor Rust-Eze brothers didn't know what to say.

"Look, look, guys!" Lightning came to their rescue. "Let's not overreact! It's just a slump. We'll get him next week."

Of course, that wasn't enough to satisfy the press, who were still following, calling out questions.

"Okay, that's enough. No comment."

"Not even about Cal Weathers retiring?" Shannon Spokes asked.

Lightning stopped short. "Wait. What?"

"Cal Weathers", another reporter pressed. "He's hanging up his Lightyears."

McQueen was silent for a moment, allowing the news to sink in.

"No", he answered finally, driving away. "No comment on that either."

He had to find Cal.

"Hey, Cal!" he called out when he caught up with him down by the trucks. "Hey! Retirement? What's going on?"

Cal sighed. "You know, I asked my uncle once how I'd know when it was time to stop", he began as he reversed into his trailer. "You know what he said? 'The youngsters will tell you.'" After a moment of silence, he added, "We had some good times together. I'm gonna miss that the most, I think."

"Yeah", Lightning agreed.

With that, Cal closed the trailer door and he was gone, leaving Lightning staring after him. How could Cal be done? He remembered when Cal first started...

* * *

_It was the first race of Lightning's third season of the Piston Cup. He had won one_ _Piston Cup already and was revved up and ready to win another one. He and the rest of his_ _team were gathered in the pits._

"_All set, Guido?" Lightning asked the forklift._

"_Peet stop!" he replied._

"_Are _you_ all set?" Doc quizzed Lightning._

"_Sure I am!" he responded confidently. "I was born ready!" He paused and added, "Oh! I_ _forgot to tell you! Team Dinoco have a new racer starting today."_

"_Really?" Everyone was interested._

"_Yeah."_

"_Do you think they're good?" a seven-year-old Fudge wondered as she sat on the floor,_ _rocking back and forth._

"_They must be to get the Dinoco sponsorship", Lightning commented._

"_Yeah, well, that's the problem with rookies", Doc reminded him. "You don't know what_ _you're gettin'. Just keep your cool."_

"_I will", Lightning assured him. He wasn't all that worried; last year, he'd already taken two_ _rookies under his wing: Bobby Swift and Brick Yardley._

"_Lightning McQueen?"_

_Said race car turned around at the sound of his name. There was a Dinoco blue race car_ _sporting the number 42 parked there._

"_Hey..."_

"_Um..." He looked nervous. "I'm Cal. Cal Weathers."_

"_Weathers?" Lightning repeated. "As in-"_

"_Strip Weathers", Cal cut him off. "Yeah. He's my uncle!"_

"_Oh! Wow!"_

"_Yeah, I... I'm really looking forward to racing with you. You're a very talented racer, you_ _know that?"_

"_Wow, thanks!"_

"_And what you did for my uncle was great."_

"_Oh, thanks!"_

"_Well, I better get back to my pits. Good luck."_

"_Yeah. You too."_

_As the race began, Cal started off slowly. Well, he'd made it to the middle of the_ _pack, but then he kind of froze up, not wanting to get any faster. A lot of people watching at_ _home were thinking,_ Some nephew of The King! _However, those who were there could see_ _that it was obvious something was bothering him._

"_Come on, Cal!" The King, who, of course, was his crew chief, radioed him. "You gotta go_ _faster than that! What's the matter?"_

_When Lightning looked back at him, he could see what the problem was: Chick Hicks. That_ _was the car, who had taken out his uncle in his last race. No wonder Cal was so afraid._ _Lightning felt sorry for him. He wished there was something he could do, but besides hope_ _that The King could help him through it, he didn't think there was._

_Fortunately, that was what happened. Cal began to pick up speed. He even passed_ _Lightning at one point._

"_Hey, you're doing great!" he called to him when he did._

_Boy, the grin that lit up Cal's face was something to see. "Thanks!" Then, just like that, he_ _was gone._

_Lightning won that race. Bobby came in second, Chick was third, Brick was fourth and_ _Cal finished fifth._

"_Fifth place!" Lightning congratulated him. "That's not bad for your first race!"_

"_Thanks, Mr. McQueen." That massive grin returned to his face._

"_Just call me Lightning."_

"_Okay. Thanks, Lightning."_

_Not long later, Lightning was being swarmed by the press._

"_McQueen! What was it like to race with the nephew of The King?" Kori Turbowitz wanted to_ _know._

"_Yeah, it was great. You know, racing with The King was a real honour, a childhood dream of_ _mine, really. So, racing with his nephew's been an honour too."_

_Unfortunately, Lightning was oblivious to what was going on at the same time. Cal had_ _managed to get into cahoots with Bobby Swift, who already had the tendency to prank_ _Lightning after every win._

"_So, what do you make of today's win?"_

"_Well, that was great too. You know-"_

_Whatever he was about to say was drowned out by a voice yelling out, "__**THINK**_ **_FAST!_**_" Before anybody knew what was going on, Lightning McQueen was assaulted by a_ _bunch of water balloons!_

"_Wha-" Lightning sputtered, looking around to find two blurs- one light blue and the other_ _dark purple- whizzing past and lots of people laughing. In fact, Fudge was laughing so hard_ _that she wet her pants_! "Oh, they're gonna pay_!" Lightning vowed determinedly and he_ _began his pursuit._

_Nobody knew what was going on, but after a couple of seconds, there was the sound of_ _water splashing and Bobby and Cal both giving startled yelps!_

"_I swear", Doc began, shaking his hood once he, The King and the rest of the RS gang_ _caught up with the trio, "_Fudge_ is more mature than you boys sometimes!"_

"_What does_ mature _mean?" Fudge wondered from her spot on Luigi's hood._

"_It means you act like you're older than you are", Doc explained._

"_I'm seven!" the human girl informed anybody who was listening. She held up seven fingers._

"_Yeah, well, I think these three have been acting like four-year-olds!"_

"_Come on, Doc!" Lightning laughed. "We're just having a little fun! I'm sure _you_ did this kind_ _of thing with_ your _racing buddies too!"_

_Doc was about to protest, but finally, he just grumbled, "_Touché_."_

"_So, there's a party over at the Dinoco tent tonight", Cal informed Lightning. "Did you_ _wanna come?"_

"_Sure!" the 95 racer replied eagerly before looking at his crew chief. "Wait. That's okay,_ _right, Doc?"_

"_Yeah. As long as you ain't out all night, drinkin'. Remember we got Fudge with us."_

_One time, a year earlier, Lightning had returned from a party, completely and utterly drunk_ _while Fudge was asleep in the same room. Boy, was Doc mad!_

"_What if she woke up and saw you?!" he'd demanded the following morning. "She's only six_ _years old! I don't want 'er exposed to that kind of behaviour so young!"_

"_Thanks, Doc! I'll be back by eleven!"_

"_Fine, but if it's gonna be eleven, still make sure you're quiet comin' in. Fudge'll be asleep_ _then too."_

"_I will!" Lightning promised, racing off with his new friend before his crew chief could change_ _his mind._

_That had been a most enjoyable night. He, Bobby and Cal had talked, laughed, had a_ _couple of drinks (not _too_ many; Lightning wanted to stick true to his word). He found that he_ _really liked Cal Weathers and was sure that they would be friends for a long time._

* * *

Now, looking back on it as he watched Cal's driver get farther and farther into the distance, he knew that was right. They _had_ been friends a long time. There were so many good memories- racing together, pulling pranks on each other after each race, doing shots together at post-race parties, visiting each other's homes during the off-season. That was why it was _really_ hard to see him go.

He had no idea how long he was parked there before he saw Fudge waiting for him. She had heard too. The RS gang had heard in a way that seemed just as harsh as how Lightning had found out: two of Cal's pitties had approached them to say goodbye. Without a word, Fudge walked to the stock car slowly and gave him a hug. The hug felt good and, giving her a soft smile, he hugged his little sister back. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep the tears that threatened to spill inside his eyes. He didn't cry, but he was pretty close.

* * *

"_More changes ahead, Chick_", Natalie Certain reported later that night. It didn't help that her words were accompanied with a visual of the veterans' pictures disappearing one by one. "_Every week, we've seen veteran racers either retire- like Cal Weathers tonight- or_ _fired to make room for these younger, faster racers and it's not over yet."_

Lightning sighed and switched off the TV, which he was watching at a low volume. He and Sally were the only ones still awake.

"What are you gonna do?" Sally asked quietly.

Lightning sighed as if he was carrying the weight of the world. For the first time since Storm's arrival, he seemed worried. "I don't know", he admitted finally. "I just don't know."

The Porsche gave him a kiss. "It's gonna get better", she whispered.

There were no words to describe how badly her boyfriend wanted to believe that, but he just couldn't. Besides, you know how they say that things tend to get worse before they get better? Well, what happened at the next race was a prime example of just that...

**So, there you have it! I thought it would be nice to include a flashback of Cal starting to race. It made sense to me that Cal would be afraid of Chick because of what Chick did to his uncle. And that he'd be concerned about the Next Gen business because he thought he'd be replaced. The audio commentary also said Lightning ignored what the arrival of the Next Gens meant until Cal retired, so I tried to reflect that here.**

**I guess I don't have much else to say besides please review!**


	7. From this Moment

**So, I decided to update today since today is exactly five years since I joined FFN! I remember creating my account when I was fourteen on the computer in the library of my first high school (I went to two high schools). Back then, I had no idea I was going to "meet" the awesome people I have. I still can't believe two of my stories got over a hundred reviews! Your reviews just make my day! To every single one of you, I say thank you so much!  
**

**Anyway, I thought I'd update this story to celebrate, even though I doubt there will be much to celebrate, considering what happens in this chapter. I hope you enjoy nonetheless. :)**

**Chapter 7- From this Moment**

Lightning McQueen groaned as the song "Ironic" started playing.

"Why is _this_ on the Get Psyched Mix?!" he quizzed Fudge.

"Well, I gotta throw in a curveball every now and then because otherwise, you get bored and then the mix doesn't have its intended effect", Fudge explained, trying to sound intelligent.

"No!" Lightning protested. "I wanna get revved up and this song's not doing it!"

It was the day of the Los Angeles 500, the final race of the Piston Cup season. Lightning wasn't giving up. He was determined to win. These past couple of days, he'd been practically living at Willy's Butte. He was willing to try just about anything to make sure he was both physically and mentally ready; even listening to Fudge's Get Psyched Mix.

"It's gonna be weird racing without Cal", Lightning commented as they pulled into the stadium.

"Yeah, we'll all really miss him", Fudge agreed.

"You make it sound like he's _dead_, Fudge!" Sally laughed.

"Well, it kinda feels like the veterans are going extinct", Lightning pointed out, shuddering at the word _veteran_. Had he really crossed the other side now? Plus, why was he getting so negative? It was so unlike him.

* * *

As usual, upon their arrival, Fudge, Mater, Sally, Sarge, Fillmore, Guido and Luigi made their way to the pits to get set up while Lightning stayed in the trailer to try and psyche himself up. It was while the team were getting set up that they got a big surprise.

"Come on! I told you I've raced for you guys almost ten years, I had two wins last year!" a familiar voice called out. In the distance, they could see Brick Yardley chasing his sponsor. "You can't just do this to me! Give me another chance! I can do better, I promise!"

"And _I've_ told _you_ this is just business", the sponsor responded unsympathetically. "Look, I've already signed on a new racer. Chase Racelott, his name is. He's the best fit for our brand. I'm sorry."

"Brick's gone", Fudge observed, even though she didn't need to say anything. Everyone else had seen.

When Lightning arrived in the pits, he looked distracted and worried. In fact, he almost drove right past his pits.

"Lightning?" Fudge tried to get his attention. "Lightning!"

He snapped out of it and looked her way. "Yeah?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Brick and Bobby are gone."

"_What_?!" everyone gasped. They'd all known about Brick, but _Bobby_ too?!

"Are you sure?" Sally questioned.

"Positive." He nodded. "I saw Brick get fired and when I went to find Bobby to see if he knew what was happening, there was a different car in there named Danny and a human crew chief named Joey."

Sure enough, at that moment, a Next Gen racer sporting the Octane Gain logo and number 19 rolled past with a tall African-American human man with spiky black hair, wearing a dark purple jumpsuit and carrying a helmet.

The human nodded in casual greeting. "Sup?"

"I can't _believe_ this!" Fudge exploded. "It must've just happened or I'm sure Bobby would've told you! And it's the last race of the season! They couldn't have waited?"

"Obviously not", Lightning sighed.

"What a bunch of jerks!" Fudge shook her head in disbelief.

"I know." Lightning sighed again. "What am I gonna do?"

There was a pause. Nobody knew how to answer that.

"I'm actually _asking_ you guys!" the stock car explained.

"I think", Sally spoke up, "you should just go out there, give this race your best shot and then, you've got the whole off season to figure out your next move."

"Sally's right", Fudge agreed. "And hey!" she added with an excited grin. "We're going to Disneyland tomorrow, remember?"

The RS gang had a tradition of going to Disneyland every year on the day after the Los Angeles race, even the year Fudge was in the accident and although, she'd had which rides she could go on limited, she still had fun. Sometimes, even Bobby and Cal had joined them and they always had fun too.

"Yeah. Disneyland's gonna be great", Lightning agreed, trying to sound enthusiastic. After all, he _was_ looking forward to Disneyland. "If I survive this race, that is."

"I'm sure you'll be fine", Sally assured him.

* * *

Reluctantly, Lightning lined up with the forty-two other racers. As Fudge glanced up at the racers' names highlighted on the electronic boards, she felt it didn't seem right to see no Cal Weathers or to have Bobby Swift replaced with Danny Swervez and Joey Sparks while Brick Yardley was replaced with Chase Racelott.

"Hey, Lightning!" she called into the radio. "Can you hear me?"

"_Yeah. I hear you loud and clear, Fudge-O._"

"Good."

"_All right. What's the plan?_"

"Okay. So, for the time being, don't worry about Storm. Just focus on overtaking the other racers. Worry about chasing Storm down in the last couple of laps."

"_Got it._"

"Hey, champ!" Storm taunted as he past Lightning. "Where'd all your friends go?" With that, he left, taking his place at the head of the line.

"Okay. Don't let him get to you", Fudge reminded Lightning. "We'll worry about him later."

The stock car nodded. "Right."

"_A final check of his tyres as Storm settles into the pole position_", Bob Cutlass announced.

"_Boogity, boogity, boogity!_" Darrell Cartrip added. "_Let's end this season with a great race!_"

"Yeah! Let's!" Fudge agreed as the racers shot off.

Lightning couldn't help smiling. He was glad she believed in him.

Luckily, he wasn't doing too badly. He had managed to overtake a bunch of the other racers.

"That's it, buddy!" Mater hollered.

"Come on, Lightning!" Fudge added. "You got this! You're doing great!"

"_Not great enough!_" he grunted as he tried to pick up his speed.

"Don't get too stressed now. We still got four hundred and ninety-nine laps to go."

"_Right!_" He kept going.

* * *

The race went on into the night. Fudge began to get a little bleary-eyed. Oh, God! All she wanted to do was fall to the floor and sleep for a week. She hated struggling to stay awake for the night races. There were times when she began to think maybe she wasn't right to be Lightning's crew chief. He needed a crew chief who could stay awake for the entire race!

"_Hey!_" Fudge jumped at the sound of Lightning's voice through the radio during the four hundred and sixty-first lap. "_You okay, Fudge-O?_"

"Yeah." She yawned loudly. "Just getting tired."

"_I know it's been a long day_", the race car assured her gently. "_I mean, for_ you_. But there's_ _only forty laps to go. Think you can hold on till then? You can go to bed as soon as the race is_ _over, all right?"_

"I don't know if I'm gonna make it till then", the sixteen-year-old admitted with another yawn. "I'll just see how I go."

"_All right. No pressure._"

"Okay", she agreed, but she still felt guilty about not being able to stay awake, especially when he needed help beating Storm. "Well, I want you to pit now."

"_All right, Chief Fudge._"

By that point, he was still making great progress. He'd managed to overtake a lot of the racers. It was just Storm who proved to be a challenge. Well, actually, he _reminded_ them that he was the challenge.

Lightning made his way into the pits. It seemed Storm had the same idea and came in ahead of him.

"_Forty laps to go and race leader Jackson Storm is making his way onto pit road with_ _McQueen_ _on his tail_", Shannon Spokes reported. "_A good stop here could mean the_ _difference_ _between_ _victory and defeat._"

Every single time he'd entered the pits during that race, Lightning got more and more antsy. This time was no exception.

"Come on, come on, come on!" he shouted at Guido, who, normally, he trusted to get his tyres changed quickly. However, this time, he was watching Storm like a hawk and must've been really feeling the pressure. "Faster, Guido! Come on! I gotta get back out there before he does! Guido, hurry up!"

"_Fatto, fatto!_" the little Italian forklift cried and Lightning was on his way.

"_What a pit stop by McQueen!_" Darrell Cartrip proclaimed as said race car rocketed out of the pits and took first place.

"Yes!" Fudge cheered, punching the air and jumping up and down a little on the stand in both excitement and nerves. "Come on, Lightning!"

"_Man, he just got the lead!_" Darrell exclaimed.

"_But_", Bob Cutlass added, "_can he hold onto it?"_

That was the question on everyone's mind.

Although, they got an answer pretty quickly. Lightning was straining, panting, fighting to keep the lead, but Storm approached without even breaking a sweat.

"Hey, McQueen, you all right?" he asked when the two of them were level. "Listen, don't you worry, pal. You had a good run. Enjoy your retirement!" he hollered as he claimed first place once again.

"_Storm takes back the lead_!" Bob Cutlass observed.

"Okay. Don't worry. You just focus on staying in second for now", Fudge instructed, only half focused on the race. She was _so tired_! "We'll take the lead again the first chance we get."

But Lightning wasn't listening. He looked like he was in shock. One after another, Next Gens began to shoot past him.

"_Unbelievable!_" Darrell Cartrip exclaimed. "_McQueen is fading! McQueen is fading! Fading_ _fast!_"

"Lightning? Are you okay?" Fudge became concerned at how tense he was. She gave a loud yawn. "What's wrong? Talk to me, Lightning!"

"No!" he cried. He wasn't talking to Fudge. In fact, in his state, Fudge doubted that he'd even _heard_ her. He kept repeating to himself, "No, no, no! No!"

Lightning was using every last ounce of energy that he had into chasing Storm.

"Don't push it, Lightning!" Fudge instructed. "Come on! Loosen up!"

Again, he didn't seem to hear. He was pushing himself to the absolute limit, but that came at a massive price...

* * *

It all happened so fast and it snatched the breath away from just about everyone who witnessed it. One second, Lightning was on the hunt for Storm. The next, he was skidding across the track completely out of control.

"Lightning?!" Fudge called out fearfully.

There was nothing she, or anybody else, could do. Lightning clipped the wall hard and was sent flying into the air!

All around, you could have heard a pin drop, but nowhere was the shock felt more than Team McQueen's pits. Sally gave a soft gasp. Everyone's eyes doubled in size. Fudge felt her heart skip a beat and a shiver course through her spine. She tried to force herself to look away. She didn't want to see what was about to happen, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to drag her eyeballs away from the horrific sight. The next few moments were weird in Fudge's mind. It seemed to unfold before her eyes so fast, but at the same time, it felt like everything was moving in slow motion. It was a feeling she'd only ever read about and never experienced until then. She was definitely wide awake then.

Lightning was rolling around in the air for a couple of seconds. One of his rear tyres had blown and his spoiler was just hanging by a thread. Already, his eyes were closed. For a brief moment, it felt like he wasn't going to come down. Yet, of course, he did. He hit the asphalt hard, but it didn't stop there. He rolled several times, slamming into the asphalt hard every single time. There were a couple of horrible seconds where his seemingly-lifeless body was dragged across the ground. The most god-awful sounds of metal smashing and scraping pierced through the stunned, silent stadium. A shower of sparks flew behind him.

It felt like a long time- a long, _painful_ time- before he came to a stop, collapsing in a heap at the end of a trail of metal shards and remains of a burst tyre. His paint was badly scratched, he had smoke pouring out of his engine and quite a lot of nasty-looking dents. He looked lifeless.

* * *

For a second, nobody said or did anything. Then things began to happen fast.

"Oh, my God!" Fudge murmured softly, jumping down from the crew chief platform, stumbling a little bit on landing. She was shaking all over. She was cold all over, even though she was wearing a jacket and it wasn't particularly cold that night. She was in shock.

Mater, Sally, Guido and Luigi rushed forward as sirens began to wail. Fudge tried to follow them, but Sarge held her back and stopped her.

"I think it would be best if you stayed here, soldier", he informed her in a tight voice.

"But I'm the crew chief!" Fudge protested, struggling in the Jeep's grip. "He needs me!"

Still, Sarge refused to let go of her. Crew chief or not, he thought that this was much too upsetting for Fudge. Plus, he could see that she was in shock.

"Lightning?!" the human girl cried into the radio with tears stinging in her eyes. She wasn't expecting anything, but she knew she had to try. "Lightning, can you hear me?!"

No answer.

"**LIGHTNING! LIGHTNING!**" she continued to scream, horrified, as she started bawling.

"Fudge." Sarge shook his hood at her. He turned her away and let her sob up against him.

Still, Fudge continued to thrash around in a futile attempt to get Sarge to let go of her. Yet he never did. Fudge knew that he was stronger than her. Both Sarge and Fillmore hugged Fudge as she watched what was happening in horror. There were emergency crews surrounding him- paramedics, a tow truck, a fire truck. Sally, Mater, Guido and Luigi had been pushed back while they were checking Lightning over. She couldn't see anything besides that or hear anything, but it looked very serious.

She just couldn't believe it. Crashes were a part of racing, Lightning had always pointed out. Even he'd been in a couple, but none of them had ever been this serious. Not one had even come close! The scene replayed over and over in the sixteen-year-old's head. It was brutal. For a brief moment, she wondered if this feeling of shock mixed in with pain and helplessness was how _Lightning_ had felt when _she_ had_ her_ accident. Probably. After all, he was the only one there. Helping her had been entirely up to him.

Just as Lightning was being loaded into the ambulance, Fudge gasped as one of the forklift paramedics appeared at her side suddenly. He repeated the instructions he just gave the others on how to get to the hospital to Sarge and Fillmore.

Sarge nodded in comprehension. "All right. Thanks." He looked at Fudge, who was still sobbing into his grille. He made sure her jacket was over her properly and spoke gently. "Come on, soldier. Let's get to the hospital."

Fudge just hiccupped as she and Sarge followed the rest of them. As they exited the stadium, the last thing Fudge heard was Bob Cutlass's voice over the loudspeaker. "_We are_ _still awaiting news on Lightning McQueen's condition, but after such a devastating crash, we_ _can only hope that this race today wasn't his last._"

**I deliberately used the dialogue from when Doc had his crash. I thought it would be a good way to highlight the similarity. That's also why I used the** **"_The rookie sensation came into the season unknown, but everyone knows him now!_" line to describe Jackson Storm in the previous chapter. Like I said, the whole thing with the Get Psyched Mix comes from another Owen Wilson movie.**

**The crash is a sad part of the movie, but I'm glad they didn't kill Lightning off like a lot of people said when the teaser was first released. I didn't think so, though. (I remember people thought Lightning was going to die because of the teaser, they thought Lizzie was going to die because she was old and they thought Mater was going to die just because he wasn't in the first trailer. Pixar aren't gonna kill off everyone in Radiator Springs, people!)**

**Anyway, I know it's sad, but, as you know from the movie, it'll get better.**

**Please review! :)**


	8. Everything Will Change

**Happy Lightning McQueen Day, everyone! To celebrate, here is more of _Driven to Win_! Yay!**

**Now, I'm sure a lot of you would want to see what happened in those four months when Lightning was recovering from his crash! Well, my friends, that's exactly what the next few chapters are about! Of course, there are physical aspects to his recovery, but considering I don't know much about that and I feel like the mental recovery is one of the main complications of the movie, I've decided to focus on that. **

**(By the way, this chapter features another flashback. I think it's the last one for a while, though.)**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 8- Everything Will Change**

Fudge didn't remember much of the ride to the hospital and neither did anybody else for that matter. It was like one second they were being escorted out of the stadium and the next, they were all parked in the bright lights of the emergency room.

The wait was long and painful. Fudge cried the whole time and some of the others shed some tears as well. Most of the time, they were silent, but occasionally, someone would ask if they thought that Lightning was going to be okay, to which the others could only say that they didn't know. Sally and Mater were both at the reception desk, bawling their eyes out and requesting updates. However, the receptionist didn't have any news for them. Lightning was still in surgery.

"I spoke to the others back home", Sarge informed the others at one point after he'd disappeared. He was speaking half to break the silence and half because he felt like they all ought to know. "They're on their way to California now. They said they'll drive all night."

Everyone else nodded, not really wanting to speak.

"Do you think Lightning will be okay?" Fudge wondered, her eyes filling with tears.

Luigi took her hand. "Of course he will." The only problem was that he didn't sound sure of that at all.

"I don't want anything to happen to him!" Fudge began to cry loudly.

"I know, I know!" Luigi gave her a big hug, rocking his daughter like a baby. "It is going to be okay, angel. Lightning is strong, no?"

"I know, but what if he doesn't..." The sixteen-year-old trailed off, crying harder and not wanting to finish her sentence. She knew that Lightning was strong, but he wasn't exactly invincible and it had been a horrific crash.

"Well, we don't know anything right now, Fudge", Sarge reminded her. "Let's just hope for the best."

"Yeah. We just need good vibes, man", Fillmore agreed.

Fudge wasn't sure if she believed in good vibes. The last time she had a strong feeling good things were going to happen for her, she had a couple of days of the year and next thing she knew, it was three months later and she was in the hospital in the worst pain ever.

* * *

"Family for Mr. McQueen?" a doctor called out at one point.

The RS gang made a beeline towards him and several interested fans were eavesdropping as well.

"How is he?" Sally demanded.

"Well, his surgery was a success", the doctor began. "He is currently in a critical, but stable condition, but we have no idea how long it will take for him to recover. We'll just have to monitor his condition."

He talked for a little while longer, but Fudge wasn't listening by then. She was too stressed to pay attention. Although, she hadn't realised she'd tuned out until she heard the doctor suggest, "You should all go and get some rest. We'll most likely know more in the morning."

"So, is he gonna be okay?" Fudge questioned as they all filed out towards the door.

Sally came over and gave a heavy sigh as she stroked the girl's hair. "I don't know, sweetie", she replied, choking back sobs. "I just don't know. Not even the doctors know right now. Like they said, they'll do everything they can, but some of it Stickers has to do on his own."

Fudge nodded as her tears started up again.

The Porsche gave her a kiss. "How are _you_ feeling?" She could tell that the poor girl was in shock.

The human girl looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "_Me_?! _I'm_ fine! It's Lightning I'm worried about!"

"Well, maybe you'll feel better if you got some rest", Sally suggested. After a pause, she added, "I think we _all_ need the rest."

"When can we see him?" the human girl wanted to know, finally asking the other question that had been on her mind.

"I think they want us to wait a couple of days, sweetie", Sally replied. "He has some pretty serious injuries."

"Oh. Okay."

* * *

There was nothing that they could do for Lightning at that point, so, they all agreed to take Sally's advice. Of course, getting rest was much easier said than done. For starters, the drive back to the hotel was a slow, melancholy one. All of them were thinking that they couldn't leave Lightning like that. Of course, anybody who recognised them as members of Team Lightning McQueen sent sympathetic puppy dog looks their way, which did nothing to make them feel better about their current situation.

When they were all at the hotel, all of them lay awake in the darkness, the crash replaying in their minds and worries of Lightning's condition coming back time and time again. It was going to be a long night. Fudge was no exception to having these thoughts. Not only that, but when she did drift off to sleep, familiar scenes came to life in front of her. Ever since the age of five, the human girl suffered from frequent nightmares, which started when social workers threatened to take her away from her family. The nightmares normally returned at their worst when Fudge went through some kind of trauma like Doc's death, the World Grand Prix and the accident. They didn't always necessarily have anything to do with the actual trauma, but this time, it did. Every last detail was so painfully vivid. Every slam of metal. Every scrape. Every roll. Every spark. Lightning's lifeless body lying crumpled on that track. Sirens wailing. She sprinted and sprinted, but Lightning seemed to move further and further away.

"Lightning!" she gasped, waking up.

As she opened her eyes to find herself in a dark, quiet hotel room, Fudge realised the worst part of her nightmare. When she opened her eyes, it didn't end. Lightning had crashed and was still in the hospital. This was real. And she had no idea if things were going to get better or worse. Fudge just cried in fear of her nightmare and the reality of it. Of course, since everyone was awake, everyone was quick to hear her and rush to comfort her. That was how the whole night was. They all just stayed awake, comforting each other until the sun rose. After making a failed attempt to have breakfast and Fudge had changed her clothes, they were all on their way back to the hospital.

* * *

So, the longest day of their lives began. They sat in the hospital lounge, waiting for news that never came. Several people recognised them and tossed even more sympathetic puppy dog looks. It wasn't fair, Fudge thought bitterly at one point. She didn't want to be at the hospital. Hospitals scared her, especially with how much time she'd spent in them. She wanted to be at Disneyland. Instead of the happiest place on Earth, she had to sit in the most depressing place on Earth.

In the early afternoon, Red, Sheriff, Flo and Ramone showed up. They rushed forward and gave the others hugs and kisses.

"How is he?" Sheriff questioned.

"Still no change since I spoke to you last night", Sarge answered ruefully. "The doctors promised to keep us up to date."

Sheriff nodded. "Right."

With that, they went back to waiting in silence.

* * *

Waiting in silence during the day and lying awake and/or having nightmares at night was how the RS gang past the time for the next two days.

"No changes yet", the doctors reported several times a day.

"How can there be no changes yet?!" Fudge exploded on the verge of tears. "It's been two days! Why is there no news?!"

"These things take time, sweetie", Sally explained gently. "They don't just happen overnight. When you had your accident, you were in a coma for three months and you couldn't walk for several months."

"I hope Lightning doesn't take that long to get better!" the teen wailed, beginning to cry.

"Well, maybe he won't", Sally tried to comfort her. She hugged Fudge. "Different people take different amounts of time to recover from things like this. It all depends on the person. Besides, I think you were in worse shape than he is."

"I hope you're right..."

* * *

Luckily, Sally _was_ right. The next morning, the doctors decided that Lightning could start having visitors.

"Not too many", they cautioned. "Mr. McQueen still hasn't regained consciousness, but we don't want him to become overwhelmed when he does." He looked around at the group. "Now, does Mr. McQueen have any family?"

"I'm his sister", Fudge responded automatically.

"And I'm his wife!" Sally added. Okay. Sally and Lightning weren't actually married, but she wanted to make sure she got to see him.

The doctor to whom they were speaking had been a little confused when Fudge had said she was his sister, but he and the other doctors recognised her and got the message. So, both Sally and Fudge were allowed to see him.

Only as she made her way towards his room (Room 624), Fudge wasn't sure how she felt about that. Sure, she wanted to see Lightning, but she was beginning to get afraid of what she'd find.

"Fudge?" Sally got the sixteen-year-old's attention. "You coming?"

"Yeah", Fudge replied uncertainly.

"Just be careful", the Porsche cautioned as the two of them entered the room. "There are lots of machines in there. It's just there to help Lightning."

"Okay..."

When they entered the room, they couldn't believe what they saw...

Lightning was lying there with his eyes closed, slightly suspended. He had had his paint stripped and was sporting just primer. There were several machines around the room and some of them were going into him. There was also a soft beeping sound from the heart monitor.

Fudge's eyes widened. It didn't look like Lightning. Next to her, Sally looked just as shocked. They were silent for a long time before...

"Fudge?"

The human girl struggled to find her voice. "Ye- Yeah?"

"You know, when we were first allowed to see you after you had your accident, Stickers found it hard to see you too", Sally told her quietly. "In fact, he came in to see you when you were still unconscious and two seconds later, he just raced back out. It wasn't until you came _out_ of the coma that he really started to see you." She took a deep breath and added, "It's okay if you don't wanna be in here, sweetie."

Fudge shook her head. "No. I do."

They were both sat staring at him for a long time before they both began to cry.

Fudge shifted her chair closer to the stock car.

"Don't touch him", Sally reminded her.

"Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up!" she whispered softly, her tears falling.

* * *

Lightning heard a familiar voice, whispering, quietly, "Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up!" Then he was pretty sure he felt something wet drop onto his hood, which was killing him.

"Lightning? I don't know if you can hear me", that voice went on, "but I love you."

He opened his eyes as if this simple task was the hardest thing in the world. His roof was pounding, there was an obnoxious ringing sound and his vision was blurry. When his eyes adjusted, he could see that Fudge was right in front of him and Sally was behind.

Fudge's eyes widened and a smile took over her face. "Lightning?!"

"Stickers?" Sally added.

"H- Hey, guys", he stammered out. He sounded tired; physically and emotionally tired.

"How you feeling?" Sally wanted to know.

"I'm okay. Really", he assured her, sounding anything but okay.

His girlfriend turned to the human girl beside her. "Fudge, why don't you go and find a doctor and the others and tell them he's woken up?" She handed the human girl a dollar bill. "Then why don't you go to the vending machines and get yourself a soda or candy bar or something?"

She wanted Fudge out of the room. Even Fudge knew that. So, as much as she wanted to stay, she rose to her feet slowly and reluctantly and started to make her way to the door.

"I'll see you guys later", she muttered on her way out.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sally began once the teen was gone.

Lightning thought about that. "I was trying to chase Storm and I hit a wall and... That's it."

So, Sally got him caught up to speed on everything that had happened since then. "A doctor will tell you more", she added. Then she asked what she had wanted to ask all along, "How... How do you _really_ feel?"

Lightning heaved a huge sigh. "Honestly... This is the worst I've ever felt in my life."

Sally nodded, but she was worried. Lightning looked terrible. He _felt_ terrible. Unlike Fudge, he remembered _some_ details of his crash. Despite the medication, he was still in a _lot_ of pain. And his future as a racer was far from certain.

She knew why he hadn't told her that initially. When Lightning first met Fudge, he thought she was a baby. After all, she was five years old and had peed on the floor during his court case. Now, she was sixteen years old and he _still_ kind of thought of her as a baby. Not in a bad way. There was just a lot of innocence about her; plus after the accident, he felt the need to take care of her and protect her. So, that was exactly what he was doing now. If putting on a brave face and acting like nothing was wrong in front of her was what he had to do to protect her, then so be it.

* * *

Sally spent most of the afternoon with Lightning, only leaving when the doctors wanted to run some tests and give him his medication. Of course, like Sally said, the doctors also informed him of the plans for his recovery. Once that was over, there was a knock at the door.

"Hello?"

The door opened a crack and Fudge stuck her head in.

"Hey, Fudge-O!" Lightning greeted her warmly.

"Hi", she murmured softly.

"Come on in."

Uncertainly, Fudge came into the room and closed the door. She made her way to the chair and sat down, placing the backpack she had with her on the floor by her feet. She was afraid. Lightning knew that and he couldn't blame her. He'd been afraid to go near her after her accident.

"How you doing, sweetie?" he asked.

"I'm okay. The more important question is, How are _you_?"

"I'm doing okay", he assured her. He told her everything the doctors had just told him- about surgeries and medication.

Fudge nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I've been there." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a bunch of flowers, a card and a small bear with a Get well soon balloon. "I got you these." The room was already full of stuff like that from the RS gang, people who Lightning knew from the racing circuit (like Cal, Bobby, Rusty and Dusty) and fans, but Fudge had wanted to give hers to Lightning personally.

"Oh! Thank you!" He smiled gratefully.

Fudge was quiet for a while.

"You know, it's gonna be okay, Fudge", Lightning assured her, sensing that she was starting to get upset.

She shook her head.

"No? What's wrong?"

"Everything's different. You know... You're here in the hospital, Bobby and Cal are gone, Storm won the Piston Cup... I wish we'd gone to Disneyland and..." Fudge began to cry.

Lightning reached out and took her hand, squeezing as much as he physically could (which wasn't much). "Fudge, don't cry!" he whispered helplessly. He'd seen Fudge cry over everything from skinned knees and being picked on by other kids, to being afraid during the World Grand Prix, to being upset about her accident. No matter how many times he saw her cry and no matter what the reason was, it always broke his heart.

"I can't help it!" she wept. "I hate this!"

"Yeah, me too", Lightning admitted. "Hey! Look at me." Fudge obeyed. "I know it's hard, but it's still gonna be okay! I'll be out of here faster than you can say, 'Ka-chow!'"

"Ka-chow!" Fudge cried. "Ka-chow, ka-chow!"

Lightning laughed. "Do _I_ look worried?" He sure _hoped_ not.

"No..."

"See? It's all gonna be fine."

"Okay..." Fudge didn't sound certain.

"Come on! Don't give me that face!" he added, seeing the wounded puppy dog look in her tear-filled eyes.

It was this look that reminded Lightning of a memory from seven years earlier...

* * *

_From a very young age, Fudge was allowed to go out about the town by herself._ _When customers returned to town, she had to be reminded of the road rules and not to talk_ _to strangers, but then she was off again. Nobody was particularly concerned if they didn't_ _know where she was. It was just when it turned into a couple of hours..._

"_Has anyone seen Fudge?" Luigi asked as they gathered at Flo's one evening._

"_No", everyone answered, almost in unison._

"_When'd you last see 'er?" Doc wanted to know._

"_About three o'clock. She was upset because Guido and I told her we would not be going to_ _that amusement park tomorrow because Guido is sick."_

"_All right. We better go look for 'er." In a matter of minutes, everyone was assigned a place_ _to look and they were away._

_Lightning was assigned the Wheel Well. He doubted the nine-year-old human girl_ _would be there; it wasn't somewhere she went by herself a lot as it was quite a walk. Still, he_ _knew if Fudge was missing, they had to look everywhere they could think to find her._

"_Fudge!" he called out as he drove. "Fudge!_"

_There was no answer. So, he kept going. When he was so close to the Wheel Well, he could_ _hear something. It sounded like Fudge was there. And she was crying._

"_Fudge!" he called again, growing even more concerned. "Fudge, where are you, sweetie?"_

_When he found her, she was lying facedown in the dirt in front of the Wheel Well,_ _bawling her eyes out._

"_Hey, hey!" He rushed over to her and put a tyre on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"_

"_I'm really upset!"_

"_Yeah, I can see that. Care to tell me why?"_

"_You don't care!" Fudge sniffled._

_Lightning sighed. "Then why did I ask?"_

_Fudge didn't answer. She just cried._

"_Is this about not going to the amusement park?" He knew that that would be very upsetting_ _for a nine-year-old._

"_Not_ just _that!" she wept. "I did a lot of writing today and it was really good, but then the_ _stupid computer stopped working and I lost it all! And Doc yelled at me because I was upset_ _about that!" She'd had a bit of a meltdown. "I lost to Mater at soccer! And_ then _I ran into a_ _pole!" She looked up and Lightning could see a black eye forming and her mouth was_ _bleeding. She had something in her clenched fist too: a small bloody tooth!_

_Lightning sighed. "Guess you've had a bad day, huh, Fudge-O?"_

"_Yeah!" she wailed._

"_All right, Fudge-O", Lightning whispered soothingly, pulling her into a big hug. "All right."_

"_I'm bad luck!" she moaned, hugging him back._

"_No you're not! It's all right! Fudge, look at me." So, she did. "All right. Everyone has bad_ _days every now and then. Even me", he added, knowing how much Fudge looked up to him._ _Ever since his change of heart over his first week in town and the tiebreaker race, he'd been_ _kind of a superhero in Fudge's eyes. "It happens, but do you know what always makes_ me _feel_ _better when _I've _had a bad day?"_

_She shook her head. "What?"_

"_Being with all you guys!" he answered, taking her hand. "Look, when I've had a bad day,_ _you are very good at making me smile. You're a very special girl, Fudge. I love you and I am_ _so glad I met you. Never forget that." He never thought it would happen when he first_ _met_ _her, but Lightning meant every word of that._

"_Really?" A slow smile formed across the nine-year-old's lips, but it disappeared quickly._

"_Absolutely", Lightning confirmed seriously. "Just being with you makes me feel better, but it_ _really helps when you smile."_

_Fudge shook her head, still crying. "I won't be doing that."_

"_Really?" Lightning sounded hurt. "Not even for me?"_

"_I don't feel like smiling."_

"_No? Not even if I told you Flo's making you mac and cheese for dinner? __And if you want, I_ _can ask if we can put hot dog pieces in it.__" That was a favourite of Fudge's._

"_Sounds good", Fudge responded, but she still didn't smile._

"_Come on!" he pushed in a singsong voice. "Where's that beautiful smile?"_

_A small smile tugged at Fudge's lips, but she fought to keep her frown._

"_All right. There's only one thing for this", the stock car announced seriously. "I didn't wanna_ _have to do this, but you've left me no choice."_

"_What?"_

_Without a word, Lightning launched into the task of tickling the girl._

"_No, no, no!" she cried, beginning to squeal with laughter._

"_There!" Lightning exclaimed, satisfied when he saw a huge grin across her face._ "That _was_ _all I wanted!"_

_Fudge didn't answer. She was just laughing so hard._

"_Come on!" Lightning scooped her up after a while. "We should get back to town now._ _Everyone's looking for you and I think you need to see Doc. Look at you."_

"_Okay", Fudge agreed as Lightning drove off with her. "I love you."_

"_I love you too", Lightning replied. "And when we're finished at Doc's, what do you say we_ _go_ _over to Flo's and get our dinner? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."_

"_Yeah. Me too."_

_Fudge stopped crying when Doc had washed her mouth out with warm water and_ _put_ _a cotton bud over her eye. She cheered up when she had her dinner of macaroni and cheese_ _with hot dogs cut up in it. Finally, she was completely back to her normal, happy self when_ _Lightning gave her a bath (she'd wanted him to do it that night and he said he didn't mind,_ _which he really didn't). She felt even better when Lightning was drying her off and he_ _promised her a fun day to make up for not going to the amusement park._

"_We'll do whatever you want tomorrow", he promised, giving her a kiss._

* * *

Seven years later, Lightning squeezed sixteen-year-old Fudge's hand tighter. "Remember what I told you about how everyone has bad days?"

"Ye- Yeah?"

"Well, this is just one of mine, all right? That's all. It's gonna get better."

Fudge nodded, wiping a tear away. "All right."

"And what did I tell you makes my bad days better?"

"Being with us?"

"Yes! Exactly! Especially when..."

"I smile", the human girl finished in a glum monotone.

"Two for two!"

Fudge shook her head. "I'm not smiling." That was the last thing she felt like doing.

"Of course you are. You know I have my ways."

"I don't think you should be tickling me", Fudge pointed out solemnly.

"Who said anything about tickling?" he responded.

Fudge was quiet for a moment. "I'm not smiling", she repeated finally.

"Oh, yeah?" Lightning came up with all sorts of silly jokes until, finally, he got a smile and a giggle out of his sister. "I win!" he proclaimed triumphantly when he did, kissing Fudge on the forehead.

"I hate you!" she shot back teasingly.

Lightning laughed. "What are brothers for?"

* * *

When Fudge was gone, McQueen felt his spirits deflate rapidly. He'd put on a brave face for his sister and acted like nothing was wrong, but the truth was something was _very_ wrong. Well, not some_thing_. A lot of somethings. All of the somethings that Fudge had listed earlier that afternoon. Storm had won the Piston Cup, Bobby and Cal were gone and he was in the hospital after trying and failing to beat Storm.

What was he gonna do?

All of a sudden, 1954 came to his mind. That was the year of Doc's big wreck. After that, he'd been dropped and replaced with a rookie just like that. Without a smidgen of sympathy, no doubt.

"_There was a lot left in me_", he'd told Lightning sadly. "_I never got a chance to show 'em._"

It wasn't fair. Doc never got to decide when he was done racing. It got decided _for_ him.

Oh, God! Lightning came to a horrible realisation. Was the same thing happening to _him_? Probably. The signs were all there. He'd had a devastating crash and the rookies were coming in now more than ever.

If there was one thing that he was sure of now, it was that everything had changed.

**I hope you liked it! Please review!**


	9. Road to Recovery

**I know, I know. I have a rule to only update this story once a month, but I figured I could break that rule just this once. After all, today is the two-year anniversary of seeing **_**Cars 3**_** at the movies for the fifth and final time.**

**Chapter 9- Road to Recovery**

"Wow! Fresh air!" Lightning exclaimed as he was led out of the doors of the hospital. "Oh, _wow_! There are _colours_ out here! I can hear _birds_! I can't believe I'm _outside_!"

Sally, Mater and the nurse beside him all burst out laughing.

Fudge just giggled. "I know what you're talking about!" She'd been there.

It was six weeks later and- miracle of miracles- Lightning was coming _home_! He still wasn't _completely_ better, but the doctors said as long as he rested, stuck to a very strict speed limit and reported to a closer hospital to Radiator Springs (which was still over two hours away, now that Doc and his clinic were gone) every once in a while for check-ups and the occasional surgery, he could continue his recovery at home. Lightning agreed. He didn't care. He just wanted to get home. He said he'd much rather rest at home than in the hospital, which was something else that Fudge understood from experience.

* * *

Nobody from town could stay with him the entire time he was in hospital, as much as they wanted to. Unfortunately, Radiator Springs wasn't going to run itself and it wasn't like they could tell customers not to come just because of Lightning's condition. The world didn't stop. (Although, with Lightning McQueen's popularity declining, so was the number of tourists. Still, nobody worried too much about that.) So, every now and then, they would fly to LA in small groups to stay with him in hospital. The night before his release, Sally, Mater and Fudge had flown out there to accompany him when Mack drove him home.

That night, Fudge and Mater had chattered away to their injured friend about all of the latest news around town and the eccentric flight attendant they'd had that afternoon. However, after a while, Sally suggested that they left Lightning to get some rest.

"He has a big day tomorrow", she had pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right", the other two had agreed reluctantly, their moods dampening a little.

"Come on, guys!" Lightning had tried to smile at them. "It's only for one night. I'll be coming home with you tomorrow."

"Yeah, you are!" Fudge couldn't stop smiling at that.

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

"I love you." Fudge came forward and gave him a kiss.

"I love you too, Fudge."

"D'ya love _me_?" Mater questioned.

Lightning laughed. "Of course. I love all three of you."

"So, I guess I don't need to ask if you love me!" Sally piped up.

"Of course you don't!" her boyfriend responded, laughing some more. He loved Fudge and Mater just as much as he loved Sally; he just loved each of them in _very_ different ways.

* * *

So, after getting lots of rest the night before, he was ready to head home. He was glad that the three most important people in his life were all there with him. Plus, Mack was waiting for him. When Fudge had been in hospital and needed to go back constantly for check-ups and surgeries, Mack had driven her to and from the hospital. Now, that was what he was doing for Lightning.

"Hey, boss!" the big truck greeted him. "How ya doin'?" He was genuinely concerned. Although the press released regular updates, they were quite vague.

"I'm doing okay, I guess. I'm glad to be going home."

"I'll bet. Well, let's get goin'!" Mack looked to not only Lightning, but Sally, Fudge and Mater too. "All aboard!"

Happily, the four loaded into the trailer and Fudge flopped on the bed.

"I'm so glad you're coming home!" she proclaimed for the thousandth time once Mack started up his engine and they were on the road.

"Me too", Lightning agreed for the thousandth time. "Bedrest was driving me crazy! Fudge, how did you do it? You suffered bedrest for a hell of a lot longer than I did!"

Fudge shrugged with a little laugh. "I know. It was horrible."

"Well, now, I got newfound respect for you."

Fudge thought that made it sound like he hadn't been at all patient and understanding with her. He had been, though. He'd been so patient and understanding that she didn't even know how the hell he put up with her.

* * *

Lightning slept most of the way back to Radiator Springs. Still, there was a brief period of time where he was awake and the other three were asleep. When that happened, he began to worry about his future. With Storm's arrival, all of his friends gone and what had happened to Doc all in his mind, he wasn't sure if he even _wanted_ to get back to racing. The Florida 500, the first race of the season, would be in February and the idea of going was appealing to him less and less.

"It's still three months away", Sally reasoned when he voiced his thoughts to her later on. "You might change your mind between now and then. You don't have to decide anything right now. For now, why don't you just focus on getting better. That's what we all want."

So, Lightning decided to follow Sally's advice. Despite how worried he was about whether or not he would continue racing, he was still in a lot of pain and couldn't think about it too much.

* * *

Besides, when Mack pulled up in Radiator Springs, he cheered up immediately.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted the little crowd of the townsfolk, who were all there to greet him.

"McQueen!" everyone exclaimed. "It's so good to see you! How are you feeling?!"

"I'm pretty tired, but I'm doing okay", he mumbled. "I think I'm just gonna go home and take a nap."

"Told you a party wasn't a good idea", Sarge told Mater.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired", Lightning repeated.

"Well, when you're feeling better, we can have a party to celebrate _that_!" Fudge suggested with a huge grin.

"Yeah, we can." Lightning agreed, thinking that it would be a while before they'd be celebrating _that_.

"Do you think he's gonna be okay?" Fudge quizzed the others when he was gone.

"Fudge, we've _talked_ about this!" Sarge informed her patiently. "It may take a while, but the doctors have-"

"I didn't just mean _physically_", Fudge cut in.

Everyone paused. They knew what Fudge was saying and it was something that they'd all picked up on. Lightning had been kind of down lately.

"I'm sure he'll get better with time, sweetie", Sally assured her. She sighed and started heading off to the Cozy Cone to be with Lightning.

"I'll be there in a sec", Fudge called after the Porsche. "I just wanna say hi to Jennyfur." She headed for home to greet her cat.

* * *

As she promised, the sixteen-year-old headed over to the Cozy Cone to be with Lightning. There wasn't an awful lot to do, though. He spent most of the time asleep and he was quiet for most of the time he was awake. Though, he did occasionally ask for a drink or a book or something like that.

"The tables have turned now, haven't they?" Fudge commented at one point, giving the sleeping race car a kiss.

Sally knew what she meant and smiled. "Yeah. Yeah they have."

"You know", Fudge began worriedly, "Lightning took care of me a lot when I had my accident and... I'd just hate myself if I didn't do the same for him. It's just... I don't know what I can do for him." _He'd_ done everything for _her_. So, why couldn't she return the favour?

The Porsche sighed. "I know. I feel the same way."

"Whenever I'm around him, I don't know what to say or how to act either", Fudge, who was autistic and struggled in social situations, went on. "It's like... if I keep talking about what's going on, I'm worried I'm gonna upset him. If I talk about other stuff, it seems insensitive. Then if I don't say anything or don't go near him, it looks like I don't care."

"I know it's not easy, but Stickers knows you care and just want to do everything you can to help him."

"He does? But I've never told him and I don't think I've really _shown_ it."

"You have. Trust me."

* * *

_Lightning McQueen was racing. He was moving at two hundred miles an hour,_ _pushing himself to go faster, enjoying the thrill of the speed and the roar of the crowd, the_ _most important cheers coming from Mater, Sally and Fudge. He was doing what he did best._

_However, it only took a minute for everything to go wrong. Jackson Storm appeared_ _from nowhere. The younger, faster race car had no trouble overtaking Lightning, who stared_ _after him in shock._

"_No! No! No!" he cried over and over again as he fought to catch up, grunting. "No, no, no,_ _no, no!"_

_Half a second later, he was completely out of control, flying in the air and smashing_ _to the ground. It was hard to see, but Fudge, Sally and Mater raced towards him. He could_ _hear them crying and calling out his name hysterically. An ambulance also approached, but_ _when the paramedics picked him up, they didn't take him to a hospital like he thought they_ _would. Instead, they took him to a junkyard! Even worse, Cal, Bobby and Brick were all there_. _And Doc._

_Lightning's eyes widened as he saw Doc suspended into the air, about to be dropped_ _into a giant crushing device! He tried to look away, but his efforts were fruitless. There were_ _a series of horrible crunching sounds. Shards of cobalt blue metal scattered across the ground. Doc was nothing but an unrecognisable wreck._

_Lightning nearly jumped right out of his paint when he felt something lift him high_ _into the air. He yelped. He knew what was going to happen, but he couldn't fight it. He was_ _going higher and higher before he was lowered down towards the crushing device and-_

* * *

As Lightning jolted awake, he could've sworn he could _feel_ it happen. His breathing was rapid as was his heart rate. He was where he'd been for the most part of the last two weeks: Doc's garage. With everything that had been going on lately, he felt drawn to the old garage of his late mentor. Now, he looked around to see that he wasn't about to be crushed to death. A dream. It was just a dream. It felt real, though. In fact, now that he thought about it, it _was_ real. Maybe not in a literal sense, but in a metaphorical one. The Next Gens were causing the veterans to be tossed out, without getting the chance to decide when they were done. It wasn't fair.

"You okay, Stickers?" Sally questioned fearfully from where she and Fudge had been sat with him.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine", he assured her, stifling a yawn.

"You don't _look_ fine", Fudge observed worriedly.

"Well, I _am_ fine", he insisted. "Don't worry about it." He looked around. "What time is it?"

"Ten to three", Sally answered.

"Wow! I've been asleep for a while then."

"Yeah, you're almost sleeping as much as _I_ did!" Fudge added with a small smile. She had slept a _lot_ after the accident. Once, she even slept for forty hours straight, from a Monday night till Wednesday morning.

"I'd be impressed if anyone slept more than _you_ did, Fudge-O!" Lightning gave a weak laugh.

* * *

"I'm worried about Lightning", Fudge informed Sally later that night once he'd fallen asleep again and they were trying to slip quietly out of the garage.

"Me too. He's having bad dreams, I know it. He's acting exactly like he did after your accident."

"He had bad dreams after my accident?" Fudge asked in surprise.

"Yeah... Didn't you know that?"

"No..." But it occurred to the human girl that he'd been tired a lot back then, but he always told her not to worry about it. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"I guess it's because it was hard on him. He felt so guilty about what happened to you. Besides, if you weren't doing so great yourself, the last thing he would've wanted was to make you feel worse or give you something else to worry about."

"I guess so..." Fudge wished he would stop feeling so guilty about it; it wasn't his fault.

* * *

It wasn't just how he was acting that day that was concerning Fudge. He was still sat in his primer, which Fudge pointed out made him look naked ("It sure looks that way, doesn't it?" Lightning had agreed with a laugh). She would've thought by now he would've put on _some_ paint job, even if it wasn't his racing one. Ramone had come by at one point and offered to give him one, but the stock car had just given an absent hum in reply.

"Does he really _need_ a new paint job?" Fudge had tried to joke in order to mask her concerns. "I think he rocks the primer well!"

"Come on, Fudge!" Lightning shot back. "This is nothing compared to you when _you_ were on bedrest. You rocked the 'nothing but a T-shirt and underwear' _very_ well."

Fudge responded to that by making a fist with both hands, holding them out to him with the knuckles facing outwards and hitting the sides of her fists together twice. A couple of years earlier, while _she'd_ been on bedrest, she and Lightning got into the TV show _Friends_ and that had been the characters' way of giving someone the finger without actually _giving_ them the finger. (Speaking of which, Fudge would often come by to watch _Friends_ with Lightning.)

Lightning couldn't help but give a little laugh.

"I know it's hard, but we'll get through this", Sally assured Fudge. "He felt the same way after your accident. He felt so guilty."

"Uh-huh..." Fudge replied. Not only was she not convinced, but she began to feel guilty for some reason she couldn't identify. What was this? It wasn't her fault that Lightning crashed... Right?

As usual, Fudge was really tired as she collapsed into bed that night. She had so many thoughts going around in her head. Would Lightning get better physically? Would he get better _emotionally_? Would he get back to racing for the Florida 500? Why did she feel so guilty about all this? So many questions, but no answers. All she wanted was a guarantee that things would all work out in the end, but unfortunately, she couldn't see around corners.

**Please review!**


	10. Not So Happy Anniversary

**So, I figured I might as well keep going with this story; I'll just have to be careful not to include _Ride_ spoilers. So, please enjoy! I feel like this is a pretty important chapter, even if it is a filler.**

**Chapter 10- Not So Happy Anniversary**

Months went by. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year came and went. Although, it was hard to get into the spirit of the holidays for one reason. Lightning was still holing up inside Doc's garage, refusing to come out unless he absolutely had to. The others came to visit him as much as they could. Fudge would spend ages sat with him, watching _Friends_ or hugging him silently. Sammy Rose, Brick, Bobby and Cal also showed up in town to visit him. Still, nothing really cheered him up.

* * *

In fact, he seemed to get worse overtime. His biggest step backwards was on January sixth. After all, even though it never used to be a big deal for Lightning, on that day four years ago, something happened to change his life entirely. It was the anniversary of Fudge's accident. Normally, the residents of Radiator Springs would mark the occasion by celebrating that they still had each other. While most of them were still willing to do that, there was someone who wasn't quite so keen on celebrating anything...

This was a day that had always been difficult on Lightning, but this year was even worse than ever. When Sally showed up to see him, he was already crying.

"Sally!" he sobbed. "Where's... Where's Fudge?"

"She's not here", Sally replied sympathetically. "She left town yesterday for doctor's appointments and she stayed in hospital overnight."

"Is everything okay?" Lightning questioned worriedly.

"Yeah, it's just a check-up." Even four years after the accident, Fudge still had to go to hospital for check-ups a couple of times in the year.

"Well, when she gets back, tell her to come and see me. _Please_!"

"I will", his girlfriend promised. She understood why he wanted to see Fudge so badly.

* * *

While he waited, Lightning just cried, thinking about that fateful night. He didn't have to think that hard to remember that horrible scream Fudge had let out when she fell from his roof or seeing her lying on the track, completely still and not responding with blood everywhere and bones sticking out. He remembered giving her CPR, convinced that his efforts would all be for nothing. Luckily, they weren't. Waiting for the ambulance had been torturous as was the ride to the hospital, watching the paramedics do their work.

He'd hated everything about everything that had happened both then and after that. He'd hated having to tell Sally what had happened. He'd hated that Luigi had been so angry. He'd hated waiting for Fudge to come out of her coma. He'd hated how bored and crazy she was, stuck in a hospital bed, how depressed she was during that time and how much pain she was in during her physical therapy. He hated-

"Hey, Lightning!" Fudge pushed the door open and it gave a groan.

"Hey, Fudge!" he sniffled. He noticed that she looked like she'd been crying too. Her eyes were puffy and red, her face was snot-streaked and her cheeks had silver trails down them.

"Sally told me you wanted me?"

"Yeah! C'mere."

"Okay..."

When he looked at her, he could see the horrible scars across her legs and knees from all of the surgeries she'd had. Plus, whenever she opened her mouth, her missing teeth became much more noticeable. McQueen was just so relieved that he couldn't see the scar running down her back. That one looked so painful that even now, he winced every time he saw it.

Lightning gave her a big hug and she hugged him back without thinking. "You're here", he murmured softly through the tears that were falling. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Lightning sighed. "I know this is hard on you. You've done so much lately with the hospital appointments and being here with me. Maybe you should take a break."

"Well, Mater and I are going to London this weekend to see Finn and Holley."

"Really?" That was news to him.

"Yeah... I didn't wanna go because, well, you're still not well, but the others said I needed cheering up, so..." Fudge was still crying hard. "I hate this! All these hospital appointments!"

"I know. I know this is hard on you", Lightning repeated. "but you've been through this kind of thing before and you've always been fine."

"I know, but... but it's been four years! I thought I was better now! I mean, I still have pain sometimes and I get tired! But I thought this stuff- the hospital stuff- was _done_! I thought..." She trailed off, crying harder.

Of course, all that did was set Lightning off. "I'm sorry, Fudge! I'm sorry! I _still_ can't believe I've done this to you! None of this would have happened if I'd never taken you for those last laps! I should've just taken you home like I said I would!"

"Will you _stop_?!" Fudge raised her voice a little. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know what was going to happen." She paused and added, "Besides, now that I think about it, it was my fault anyway."

"What? How is it _your_ fault?"

"You... you said we were gonna go home, but then I wanted to go for a few more laps in the storm? Is that what happened?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I should've listened to you. _And_ you'd already taken me for laps. I shouldn't have been such a spoilt brat."

"You're not a spoilt brat, Fudge. You're just someone who loves racing. I know how you feel. I love racing too. Or, at least, I _did_."

"You _did_?!" the sixteen-year-old echoed in disbelief. "You don't anymore?"

"I don't know", he sighed. "With everything that's been happening lately, I'm not sure if I should go back to racing."

"You mean, you're not going to the Florida 500?"

"I don't think so..."

"Because of Storm?"

"Well, yeah. I haven't been winning since he showed up. And now the other veterans" (God! He hated calling himself a veteran) "are gone, maybe I should do the same thing."

"What? _No_! You can't!" Fudge cried.

"Yes I can! And remember, Fudge, this is _my_ decision, not yours!"

"Exactly!" the sixteen-year-old insisted. "It's _your_ decision! Not Storm's! Is retiring _really_ gonna make you happy?"

Lightning was silent for a moment. Fudge had a point. That was something he would have to think about.

* * *

"How is he?" Mater wanted to know when Fudge showed up at Flo's that evening and was served with dinner.

Fudge, noticing that Luigi was giving her a Look, made sure she swallowed her mouthful of mac and cheese before she answered. "The same."

Everyone lowered their hoods a little.

"I just want 'im to git better!" Mater complained.

"Me too", everyone else chimed in nearly in unison.

"But I don't think he will anytime soon", Sarge commented.

"He might, man!" Fillmore argued.

Sally sighed. "Of course you two don't agree."

"He's even thinking about giving up racing", Fudge went on.

Of course, that immediately sent everyone up into an uproar.

"_What_?! He can't do _that_!"

"Well, he might be doing it", Fudge sighed.

Sally sighed too. "What are we going to do?"

* * *

"The only thing I suppose you really _can_ do is give him time", Finn informed Mater and Fudge sympathetically.

It was the weekend and Mater and Fudge were in London, seeing their British spy friends, Holley Shiftwell and Finn McMissile. They were sat by the River Thames with an excellent view of Big Bentley, eating fish and chips. Fudge wrapped her jacket around her tighter. She hadn't been to London in awhile and had forgotten how cold it could get, especially in winter. While they sat there, they talked about Fudge's latest hospital trip and how depressed Lightning had been lately.

"I know, but it's been going on for months now", Fudge replied, putting a chip in her mouth. "I'm getting a little worried. He's even talking about giving up racing. The world's upside-down if Lightning McQueen doesn't wanna race anymore."

"Is he sure about that?" Holley asked.

"I don't think so", Mater responded. "He ain't sure 'bout anythin' right now."

"When does the new racing season start?" Finn wanted to know.

"End of next month." Fudge sighed. "I just wish none of this had ever happened."

"I know", Finn assured her, "but whether you like it or not, this Jackson Storm chap has joined the Piston Cup. And McQueen has crashed. There's nothing you can really do about it now."

"All you can do now is keep moving forward and hope for the best", Holley added.

Fudge nodded, knowing that both Finn and Holley were talking from experience. They'd had a couple of failures on missions and lost friends along the way such as Finn's old friend and partner, Leland Turbo.

She knew that they were right, also from experience. Moving forward and hoping for the best was how she and the rest of her family dealt with Doc's death and her recovery. It wasn't the most productive or ideal way to do things, but there wasn't really an alternative. There was a difference between knowing something and accepting something.

_Everything turned out all right in the end, didn't it?_ Fudge reminded herself. _I'm_ _better and even though we all still miss Doc, we all got through it together. Then again,_ she thought, _this_ isn't _like that. It's a different situation, apples and oranges._

Finn and Holley got the sense that they should stop talking about Lightning. So, all of them resumed eating their fish and chips without another word.

**So, yeah. Kind of short, but there you go. Finn and Holley don't really have a significant role in this story; I just included them, so I didn't completely ignore the existence of _Cars 2_. I liked that movie and I ain't acting like it never happened like a lot of people do! **

**I don't wanna go into _too_ much detail, but let's just say Sammy's no longer part of CHROME; as you may or may not have figured out.**

**Next chapter returns to the movie. Please review.**


	11. Back in the Game

**So, now that I've decided to continue with this story, I can update a little more often! Yay! I'm excited and I hope you guys are too! I really can't wait to share the rest of this story with you all! I'm in the middle of rereading it and I love it! (Of course, I'm a little biased! XD)**

**Feel free to form your own opinions as you read this chapter and the many to follow. Now, we're getting back into the movie.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 11- Back in the Game**

"_Welcome back to Piston Cup Talk Round the Clock_", Mike Joyride's voice was heard on the radio all throughout Radiator Springs, "_where we do nothing but talk racing. So, let's_ _get to it, starting, of course, with Lightning McQueen."_

Of course. Starting, _of course_, with Lightning McQueen. Fudge was just exiting Casa Della Tires with Luigi and Guido, still in pyjamas, robe and Ugg boots and still absolutely exhausted. In fact, she was stumbling around, barely able to keep her eyes open.

Luigi laughed at her typical behaviour. "You are not a morning person, are you, Fudgie?"

"Nope!" She yawned loudly. "It feels like the middle of the night!"

He laughed some more and yawned as they rolled the front door up. "Do you remember when you used to wake us up at six o'clock in the morning, wanting to play?"

"Yeah." It was Fudge's turn to yawn again. "What was I thinking?"

Luigi and Guido laughed. Whenever Fudge did that, they would just pick her up and let her sleep with them for a couple more hours till they were ready to get up.

"Oh!" Fudge exclaimed, having heard the radio at that moment. "Hey! They're talking about Lightning on the radio!" She took off as fast as she could to Lizzie's to hear better. The Model T was still asleep on her porch, so Fudge decided to wait at the bottom, so she didn't disturb her.

"_With the season start just two weeks away, there's still no official announcement_", Mike Joyride explained. "_But with number 95 coming off his worst year on record- don't_ _shoot the messenger here, folks- I think it's safe to assume that Lightning McQueen's racing_ _days are over. Meanwhile, Jackson Storm is looking even faster than-_"

Over in Doc's garage, Lightning switched off the radio and sighed. It had been four months since his massive crash. It was now the middle of February and, like Mike said, the new racing season was just two weeks away. Nobody knew if Lightning McQueen was going to be there because even Lightning McQueen _himself_ didn't know if he was going to be there. The thoughts for and against going went around in his head constantly. He also tried to think about what Fudge had said: "It's _your_ decision! Not Storm's! Is retiring _really_ gonna make you happy?"

So far, he'd come up with nothing.

He looked over at the photo of him and Doc racing by Willy's Butte, unable to believe how young he'd looked back then. He never thought things would change. Of course, he didn't think he'd be a young rookie forever, but going through these changes of reaching veteran-hood or whatever you'd call it would have never occurred to him and just didn't feel real. It was like how every time he looked at Fudge, he thought that she shouldn't be a teenager. She was supposed to be a five-year-old girl just like when he first met her.

For a while, his brain went on autopilot as he got out Doc's old film. Something inside him was telling him to watch it as it had done quite a few times over the past few months. So, in a matter of minutes, an old-fashioned film lit up with old-fashioned cars racing around an old-fashioned racetrack, complete with dirt and sand.

"_As they enter the final lap, the number six and number twelve cars are still fighting it_ _out for the lead!_" the energetic announcer observed.

By that point, Lightning had seen the footage so many times he felt like he could recite the dialogue along with the announcer.

Then he could see a familiar flash of cobalt blue roaring past several racers.

"_But wait!_" the announcer exclaimed. "_Here he comes! It's the Fabulous Hudson Hornet,_ _knocking at their door! What's he got up his sleeve today?"_

The Fabulous Hudson Hornet (this was _way_ before he was Doc) on the screen executed the famous "turn right to go left" trick he'd taught Lightning years ago to sail into the lead.

"_And there it is!_" the announcer shouted. "_With one incredible move, he's past them! The_ _Hornet takes a decisive lead! He's left the pack behind!_" The screen highlighted an excited orange pickup truck, who was cheering for the Hudson Hornet. "_His crew chief, Smokey, is_ _loving it! It's unbelievable!_"

Unfortunately, though, that didn't take long to turn into...

"_Oh, no! He's in trouble!_" The Hudson Hornet had done the "turn right to go left" move again, but was unable to stop. He was tumbling across the sand, flipping onto his roof several times. "_The Hudson Hornet has lost control! The Hudson Hornet has lost control!_"

When he finally came to a stop, the cameras shifted to the open-mouthed, lost for breath crowd. The red flag was waved, bringing the race to a halt as the other racers looked to their fellow racer, concerned.

"_What should've been a scene of jubilation has turned tragic here today, folks_", the announcer reported, "_as we await news on the Hudson Hornet's condition._"

By then, the fallen racer was surrounded by emergency crews, who were checking for a response.

It was the announcer's final words that really hit home for Lightning: "_After such a_ _devastating crash, we can only hope that this race today wasn't his last._"

As the film ended, Lightning could hear Doc's gravelly voice as he stood in that very same garage over ten years ago with him and Fudge, telling the story of his big wreck.

"_When I finally got put together, I went back expecting a big welcome. You know what they_ _said? You're_ history_! Moved right onto the next rookie standing in line_", he'd explained to Fudge and Lightning bitterly. He softened a little and his voice went quiet as he added, "_There was a lot left in me. I never got a chance to show 'em."_

After everything that had happened, Lightning was convinced that the same thing would happen to him.

More than anything, he wished Doc was here to talk to him. Every now and then, he'd go over to Doc's grave to talk, but he wanted an actual conversation with him. So many times, he'd talked to the headstone and wished he could see Doc's reaction to whatever he was saying. He was sure that the cobalt blue car wouldn't believe the story of how Mater and Fudge had been mistaken for American spies when evil Lemons were trying to kill him or that they saved the world and were rewarded with honourary knighthood. What would Doc have thought of Fudge's accident? He would've helped her if he'd been here. Most importantly, though, he wished he could go to Doc for advice.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Flo's, everyone was drinking their morning oil, except for Fudge, who was munching on eggs washed down with orange juice.

"Did you hear what they were sayin' about McQueen on the radio this mornin'?" Sheriff asked the others.

"Yeah", they all replied half-heartedly.

"Does anyone know if he's going to race?" the squad car went on.

"Nope", was the simultaneous response from everyone.

"I don't want him to give up just because of Storm", Fudge commented, her mouth full of eggs. "You know, if he's going to retire, I want it to be because _he_ wants to."

Luigi looked at her. "You know what _I_ want?"

"What?"

"I want you to stop talking with your mouth full."

Fudge just gave a sheepish smile as she got some more eggs on her fork.

Sally sighed. "Well, I'm sure he'll start training soon."

Everyone gave her an odd look.

"What makes you say that?" Sarge wondered.

"I'm about to have a little talk with him."

"I'll come too", Fudge decided as she shovelled the last of her breakfast in her mouth.

"Slow down, Fudge!" Flo cautioned. "No one's gonna take your food away from you!"

Fudge swallowed the food in her mouth. "I know."

* * *

Once she'd finished eating, Fudge went with Sally over to Doc's garage. Unbeknownst to them, Mater followed them and waited outside to eavesdrop.

Sally pushed the door open and she and Fudge entered to find Lightning staring at a newspaper article of Doc's career-ending crash.

"Hey, Stickers", the Porsche greeted her boyfriend.

"Hey, Sal", he murmured softly.

"I'm here too", Fudge added quietly, coming over and giving him a hug.

Lightning couldn't help smiling just a little as he returned the hug. "Hey, Fudge-O."

"How you feeling?" Sally wanted to know.

"Yeah. Great", McQueen responded with as much sarcasm as one could muster. "Really, really great."

"I know." Fudge hugged him some more. "I wish there was something I could do."

"Don't worry about it", Lightning whispered, kissing her. "You've done more than you think you have."

"Been thinking about Doc again?" Sally asked; only it wasn't a guess. It was a know.

"Yeah", Lightning sighed, clinging to Fudge as Sally came over. He didn't look at either of them as he spoke, revealing the thoughts that had been torturing him for months. He just kept his eyes on the newspaper clipping. "You know, they _told_ him when he was done. He didn't decide. I don't want what happened to Doc to happen to me."

"But that hasn't happened", Sally reasoned.

"No..."

"Remember when I was learning to walk again?" Fudge piped up. "And I didn't think I could do it."

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember what you told me?"

"No. What?"

"You told me I _can_ do this. The only thing that was stopping me was _me_."

Lightning gave her a sad smile. "This is a little bit different, Fudge."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go out on the track and do the same old thing!" he explained. "It _won't work_!"

"Then change it up", Sally suggested. "Try something new."

"I don't know, Sally. I-"

"Don't fear failure", she rushed on. "Be afraid of not having the chance. You have the chance. Doc didn't."

"Doc would want you to have the chance he never got", Fudge added. "He wouldn't want you to give up."

"That's right. And you can either take that chance or you can do what you've been doing. Sitting. In here. For _months_! And by the way, I _love_ what you've done with the place", Sally added sarcastically. She started driving around the garage. "I mean, the monster movie lighting and the, uh... musky air freshener."

Fudge knew what Sally was doing and joined in, giggling. "You're right, Sally. I don't think I've been anywhere so dark and cold since I got stuck in Tail Light Caverns."

When Fudge was thirteen, she was in shock after Sammy's cancer diagnosis, so she ran off on her own. However, she was still unable to walk at that point and she fell out of her wheelchair and couldn't get back up. So, she spent two days stranded in Tail Light Caverns before she was found by Lightning.

"And don't let anyone tell you you're not working that primer", Sally went on. "Because wow! I have never found you more attractive! And now that I've been in here a couple minutes, the _stench_, I'm getting kind of used to it."

"Okay, okay, Sal, I get it", he interrupted. "I get it."

So, Sally gave him the bottom line. "I miss you, Lightning. We all do." She must've really been trying to make a point if she called him Lightning instead of Stickers.

"We really do!" Fudge hugged him again.

Lightning was silent for a moment, aside from one heavy sigh.

"Try something new, huh?" he pondered over Sally's words softly.

Fudge shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to give it a go."

At that moment, the doors to the garage flung open and Mater burst in.

"Hey, did it work, Miss Sally?!" he demanded eagerly. "Did you set 'im straight with yer lawyerly powers of persuasion? Is he ready to start trainin'?"

"Well?" Sally asked. "Stinky? Uh, Stickers!"

Lightning couldn't help laughing. "Yes, guys. I am."

"Whoo-hoo!" Mater hollered gleefully, swinging his tow hook around.

"All right!" Fudge whooped, bumping her foot against Mater's front tyre. She jumped up and down excitedly. "This is the best news I've heard all year!"

"_I _decide when I'm done!" Lightning announced determinedly.

"I was hoping you'd say that", Sally informed him.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you all along!" Fudge cheered. "I'm so glad you listened to me."

Lightning grinned for a moment before getting down to business. "Okay, but I've got an idea. And I'm gonna need to talk to Rusty and Dusty, all right?"

"Oh! I'll get 'em on the horn!" Mater laughed. "Get it? On the horn?" He honked his horn just in case they didn't get it.

"Rusty and Dusty'll be glad to hear from you", Fudge added, looking at the race car. "They've been asking about you."

All of a sudden, Mater froze. "Oops! Hold on! Gotta sneeze!"

He made several attempts to sneeze while the other three looked on. Fudge smiled when she noticed the look that Sally and Lightning were sharing. It was like Mater was their kid.

"Dad-gum! I lost it!" Mater declared finally.

"Yeah, I hate it when that happens", Fudge commented sympathetically.

"Hey! I'll see you at Flo's!" the tow truck called.

The second he disappeared from view, a loud sneeze could be heard, Mater's tow hook shooting out. Fudge laughed.

"I found it!" they heard him shout back. "Hey, watch your step", he added as he dragged his hook away.

Fudge grinned at the two left there. "You know, the thing with the sneezes reminds me of a joke!" Giggling all the way, she proceeded to tell a long, silly joke about sneezing.

Lightning laughed. "You sure are a goofball, Fudge!" he proclaimed.

"Isn't that why they call me _Fudge_?" she responded. "Because I'm sweet and nutty?"

"You got the _nutty_ part right!"

Fudge just giggled.

"You better get over to Flo's", Sally suggested. "And maybe in a car wash!"

Lightning rolled his eyes, but he was chuckling. "Yeah, all right. Come on, buggerface!" he added, letting Fudge up onto his roof.

The human girl was still giggling uncontrollably. That was one of Lightning's favourite things about Fudge; when she was in a good mood, she would laugh at just about anything.

* * *

By the time Fudge and Lightning made it to Flo's, a video phone conversation was underway between the residents of Radiator Springs and the Rust-Eze brothers.

The first thing Fudge heard was Rusty and Dusty laughing followed by Flo's voice. "You boys need to get your rusty tails down here! I created a drink in your honour!"

"Yeah, the Rust-Eze Medicated Bumper Bomb!" Mater chimed in. "It goes down faster than an elevator full of Winnebagos!"

"Rusty and Dusty!" Lightning's voice rang out as they laughed at Mater's joke. With Fudge on his roof, the race car pulled up to the café and the RS gang parted to let him through.

"Well, look who's here!" Flo exclaimed.

"He's still alive, you guys!" Fudge kidded, making everyone laugh.

"Hey, guys!" Lightning greeted his sponsors.

"_Hey, here he is!_" Dusty replied. "_Good to see you, Lightnin'!_"

"Thanks, guys." Then he looked around to see who was physically present: the entire population of Radiator Springs. "Wow. You're all here."

"Well, where _else_ would we be?" Fudge wondered, scrambling off his roof and climbing onto Luigi's.

"Sorry, buddy. Did you want this call to be private?" Mater apologised.

"I mean, we can go if-" Fudge started to offer.

Lightning cut her off. "No, guys. This is perfect."

He turned to address his fellow citizens of the small town. "Listen, thanks, everyone, for... for sticking by me. Took me a while to figure it out, but I know now that it's time for me to make some changes."

"Changes?" Sarge repeated sceptically. "What kind of changes?"

"It's futile to resist change, man", Fillmore pointed out.

"You're right, Fillmore", Lightning agreed.

"_Really_?!" The hippie van's wide eyes and surprised expression made Fudge laugh.

"Which is why I have an announcement to make", Lightning went on. "I've thought long and hard about it, done a lot of soul searching... and considered all of the options... and I've finally decided..."

Everyone rolled forward, anxious to find out where this was going.

"You do want to keep racing?" Luigi guessed hopefully.

Lightning broke out into a huge grin. "Are you kidding?! Of course I wanna keep racing!"

And there was much rejoicing. Everyone began cheering and sighing with relief.

"Yeah! Yay, Lightning!" Fudge cheered. Then she added, still in an excited cheer, "I already knew that!"

"Oh, man!" Mater exclaimed. "For a second, I..." He trailed off. "Wait a minute. I knew that the whole time too." He nudged Luigi, almost sending Fudge sliding off his roof. Thank Chrysler for her magnets.

"Guys, I'm talking about making this my best season yet!" Lightning declared and in that moment, Fudge couldn't help but admire his confidence. Not only did he want to get back into the thing he loved, but he wanted to do it better than ever!

"_We were hoping you'd say that!_" Dusty repeated Sally's earlier words.

"The thing is", Lightning continued, getting down to business, "if I'm gonna be faster than Storm, I need to train like him."

"_We're way ahead of you, buddy!_" the Rust-Eze brothers chorused.

"_Lightning, we want you on the road first thing in the morning_", Dusty instructed. "_So, you_ _can come out and see the brand new..._"

"_Rust-Eze Racing Center!_" Rusty and Dusty finished together.

"_It's wicked awesome!_" Dusty added.

"Wait. What? Rust-Eze Racing Center?" Lightning echoed.

"_Yeah!_" Rusty confirmed.

"_It's got all the fancy bells and whistles that the kids are training on these days!_" Dusty explained. "_We'll send Macky boy all the directions. Now, get movin', all right?_"

"Okay", Lightning agreed as the video call ended. "Yes!"

He seemed pretty excited and everyone else was happy too, dispersing away from the café, chattering away excitedly.

"Guido, Fudge, come!" Luigi took charge. "We have to pack the tyres!"

"Let's go!" Fudge laughed as Luigi carried her back to Casa Della Tires.

Ramone pulled up beside Lightning. "Hey, McQueen! You can't race in _primer_, man! C'mon! Let's go!"

So, Lightning followed the Lowrider back to his paint shop.

* * *

"I'm so happy!" Fudge proclaimed as she and her fathers began to pack tyres for the trip. The three of them would be coming with Lightning. Luigi and Guido would take care of his tyres while Fudge, as crew chief, would oversee everything that was going on and, of course, all three of them were going to provide moral support.

Luigi and Guido laughed. Their daughter was doing more talking and bouncing off the walls than helping to pack, but they didn't mind. They knew she was excited and so were they, to be honest.

"Yes. I know these last few months have been hard on you", Luigi sympathised.

"It's just... I'm not a big fan of change", Fudge explained, even though both her fathers already knew this. "I liked things the way they were."

"I know, angel." Luigi stroked her hair. "But things _are_ changing, you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah", she admitted reluctantly. "Maybe they'll be _good_ changes, I don't know, but whether they're good or bad, I'll need time to get used to them."

The Fiat nodded. "I know. I know."

* * *

After they finished packing tyres, Guido and Fudge went over to Ramone's to see what Lightning's new paint job looked like. He'd gotten his classic paint job back. Before the crash, he'd had the word RUSTEZE on his hood and spoiler in huge letters and a couple of lightning bolts. Now, he had the entire Rust-Eze logo on his hood and lightning bolts down his sides. He looked _awesome_!

"Ramone, you have done it again!" Lightning proclaimed, looking in the mirror.

"It's like the Sistine Chapel!" Ramone declared. "On _wheels_!"

Lightning McQueen revved his engine at his reflection and vowed determinedly, "I'm coming for you, Storm!" Then he turned to his sister, who hadn't said anything. "What do you think, Fudge-O?"

"Well, it's not primer", she teased, "but it's good!"

The race car couldn't help laughing. "Fudge!"

"Seriously, though," she went on, "it's been a long time since I've seen you like this. It's great. You look _awesome_! And now, you don't stink anymore, which is always good!"

"Hey!" he cried defensively.

"Well, you _did_ stink!"

Guido and Ramone laughed. Sometimes, if you didn't really know them, you'd think that Fudge and Lightning didn't like each other at all. Though, up close, you could see that this was a game for the two of them.

Lightning laughed too, ruffling Fudge's hair playfully. "You can be a real pain in the bumper sometimes, Fudge-O. You know that?"

She grinned at him devilishly. "What are sisters for?"

**Please review!**


	12. On the Road Again

**Normally, I only update one chapter at a time. This time, however, I've made an exception for two reasons. One, I am really excited about this story and want you all to read it. Two, this is a short filler chapter. So, yeah, there's already another chapter after this.**

**I hope you enjoy both of them!**

**Chapter 12- On the Road Again**

"Fudge! What are you still doing in bed?!"

Fudge awoke with a jolt. Luigi was hovering in her doorway.

"We have to leave in half an hour!" he informed her, sounding slightly annoyed, but probably feeling _more_ than slightly annoyed. "Did you not set an alarm?"

The sixteen-year-old rubbed her eyes, pulled on her glasses and reached for her phone. "I _thought_ I did..." Blinking in the bright lights, she checked. "Dammit!" she groaned. "I set it for _PM_ instead of _AM_ again." She did that all the time.

Luigi chuckled. "Well, it is a good thing I came to wake you up."

"Yeah..." She got out of bed and stumbled around, making her father laugh some more. "What would I do without you, Luigi?"

Once Fudge had pulled on a _Friends_ T-shirt, pants that looked like jeans, but were really made of a softer material, rainbow flip-flops and the star necklace she got from Lightning, she smiled and pulled on her racing jacket. It felt good to be wearing that again. She hadn't worn it since the day of Lightning's crash.

"This is it!" she murmured to herself softly as she put the jacket on in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection. "We're off on another great adventure!"

* * *

After that, she said goodbye to her cat and made her way outside with her stuff. She had a sky blue wheelie suitcase with changes of clothes (including her cheerleading outfit, of course) and toiletries and things like that; a silver and blue backpack with things to do on the long journey to North Carolina like her journal and games and books; and a shoulder bag containing her laptop and the charger for it.

The sun had barely risen over Radiator Springs, but everyone was up. Mack was there too, prompting Fudge to sing "Return of the Mack". The townsfolk were all crowded around Lightning, admiring his new paint job.

"That's quite a spit shine!" Fudge heard Sarge comment.

Sally smiled at her boyfriend. "Welcome back. You look... different."

He grinned. "Obviously."

"Yeah, he shaved his beard!" Fudge joked.

Everyone laughed. They hadn't been laughing a lot lately and it felt good.

"You look ready", Sally added.

At that moment, Fudge let out a loud yawn, making everyone laugh.

"Not a morning person, are you, Fudge?" Lightning commented.

"Everyone says that."

"Guido, come!" Luigi called out before Guido came past, carrying armfuls of tyres. "_Scusi, scusi_! Tyres coming through!"

"Go kick those rookies in the trunk!" Lizzie ordered, surprising everyone that she understood what was going on.

Lightning laughed as he headed towards the trailer. "All right. Bye!"

"Go get 'em, tiger!" Flo shouted.

"Catch you on the flip side!" Mater called.

"Look after Jennyfur!" Fudge instructed Sarge and Fillmore, who would be looking after her cat, in addition to running the tyre shop.

"We will!" Sarge promised.

"And stay out of my room!" she added. She _hated_ people being in her room when she wasn't there.

"Don't worry, Fudge", Lightning teased. "I'm sure Sarge and Fillmore won't look at your porn." Fudge was very protective of her private property, so they often joked about her having porn, which she most certainly did _not_.

This made everyone laugh and hope that the 95 racer was kidding.

"Farewell!" Fudge yelled from the trailer, waving.

"I'll see you guys in Florida!" Lightning called to those staying behind.

"See ya, McQueen!" Fillmore shouted.

"Don't forget to call me!" Mater reminded his best friend.

"We won't _forget_, Mater", Fudge teased. "We'll just choose not to."

"Good luck in college!" Of course, that was Lizzie. Okay. Maybe she _didn't_ understand what was going on.

Lightning laughed before turning to his girlfriend. "Hey, Sal? Thanks."

"Anytime."

"Good luck, man!" Fillmore called.

"Love you!" Lightning told Sally.

"Love you more!" she responded as the trailer door went up, causing Lightning, Luigi, Guido and Fudge to disappear from view.

"Rust-Eze Racing Center, here we come!" Mack announced as he started up. "Good times are ahead!"

"**LET'S ROLL!**" Fudge cried once they were moving, making her fathers and brother laugh.

* * *

The second they were out of Radiator Springs, she started singing that "On the Road Again" song.

"Oh, dear God!" Lightning disguised his laughter with a groan. "This road trip's gonna be a Dodge Ram musical, isn't it?"

Fudge grinned. "Maybe..."

She thought about all of the memories she'd had in that trailer. Lots of singing "Life is a Highway" had occurred within that trailer, board games and card games, helping Fudge with her schoolwork. She liked the look of the trailer too. The first time she saw it, it was covered in posters and figures of Lightning McQueen. However, after his change of heart in Radiator Springs, he was embarrassed by it and completely redesigned the inside of the trailer. Now, it was painted like the Arizona deserts, surrounding their hometown and covered in photos of the townsfolk. Fudge saw herself in three photos. One of her wearing a pale pink T-shirt and denim dress as she sat on Luigi's hood with Lightning, Doc, Sally, Sarge, Fillmore, Guido and Mater at a race. A second had her as a six-year-old, dressed in her Rust-Eze racing attire, waving red and yellow pom-poms. The third was of her and the rest of her family on her thirteenth birthday, eating pizza. As she looked around some more, she saw...

"Why do you still have this?" she quizzed Lightning.

He gave her a confused look. "Have what?"

"This!" She gestured to a childlike drawing of the residents of Radiator Springs. Lightning had on whitewall tyres and night vision goggles, drinking from a can of organic fuel and had a jet of water going into his face, coming from a water gun Fudge was holding.

"Because it means a lot to me!" he answered. "Someone very special drew that for me!"

"But it's _terrible_!"

"Well, the five-year-old Fudge thought it was good", Lightning pointed out.

"Well, the five-year-old Fudge wasn't very smart!" Fudge shot back as she made her way towards the bed. "It was a good thing she was cute."

* * *

Fudge slept for a little because she was woken up early. When she woke up, she asked Lightning, "So, are you excited to see the Rust-Eze Racing Center?"

The stock car thought about that. For a long time, he'd been so depressed, worrying about this Next Gen business, but now...

"You know what? I think I am."

Fudge smiled. "It's good to see you like this again."

"Me too. I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around lately. So, thanks for putting up with me, guys."

"You weren't _that_ bad", Fudge replied. "I don't know how _you_ put up with_ me_ when I needed you to take care of me."

"_You_ weren't that bad either."

"I wonder what the Rust-Eze Racing Center looks like?" Fudge mused.

"Besides presumably having all the hi-tech stuff Storm's got, I don't know", Lightning answered.

"Have you seen it yet, Mack?" Fudge quizzed their driver.

"Not yet!" he responded. "I just got given the directions and got told to bring Lightnin' down as fast as I could. Should be pretty cool, though."

"Yeah", Fudge agreed.

"I wonder how Rusty and Dusty did it, though", Lightning wondered. "I mean, no offense to them, but they don't seem like the type of cars to know about this kind of stuff."

"Well, you can ask them when we get there", Luigi pointed out. "I am sure they have missed you."

"Yeah, I've missed them too." He'd missed a lot of people lately.

"I can't wait to see the simulators!" Fudge declared.

"Neither can I. It should be pretty cool. Challenging, but exciting."

"And we're with you all the way", Fudge promised. "You know that, right, Lightning?"

"I sure do. Thanks, Fudge."

"You know what we need?" Fudge started playing her Get Psyched Mix and Lightning couldn't help but laugh and sing along. They were on their way to the future.

**Interesting fact: According to the audio commentary, the Rust-Eze Racing Center is in North Carolina, around Charlotte, I think they said.**

**Notes going on from that: Some things I was a little confused on, though, are Sterling says Thunder Hollow is "just down the road" from the racing centre, but the audio commentary said it's in Georgia and they said Thomasville is in North Carolina while other sources have said it'****s in Georgia. So, I decided to make Thunder Hollow pretty close to the Rust-Eze Racing Center (no more than an hour away, but most likely closer) and Thomasville is in Georgia. Hope that makes sense.**

**More notes: The whole "looking at your porn" thing is a joke in my family, so I made Fudge and Lightning have the same joke. After all, they _are_ like brother and sister.**

**I referenced the drawing Fudge did for Lightning in _Life Could Be a Dream_, so you guys know he still has it. If this was the movie, I would've just had it sitting in the background, but as this is a written piece of work, rather than a visual, I had to draw attention to it.**

**Please don't forget to review this chapter before moving on to the next one! :)**


	13. Rust-Eze Racing Center

**(In case you didn't notice, I did post another chapter before this one.)**

**Enjoy this one too! :)**

**Chapter 13- Rust-Eze Racing Center**

It was a long drive from Radiator Springs, Arizona to the Rust-Eze Racing Center in North Carolina. The cars and human travelling inside the trailer kept themselves entertained with games of Cards Against Auto-manity, providing a commentary for Mack, who couldn't see what they were doing, talking and, of course, listening to the Get Psyched Mix.

"If I were a racer, I would love to make my way to the track to this song", Fudge commented when "Remember the Name" by Fort Minor was playing. She'd said the same thing when "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti was on.

* * *

Finally, Mack announced that they were about twenty minutes away.

"Yay!" Fudge cried, leaping up from the bed. "I can't wait to see this place!"

"So, Fudge, are you gonna put on your cheerleading stuff?" Lightning questioned.

"Nah. Not all of it, anyway. I don't wanna look stupid. So, just the jacket." She pulled the jacket on over her pinkish-red Coca Cola T-shirt.

"Just the jacket?"

"And the hat." Fudge placed the glitter top hat on top of her head, prompting laughter from the guys.

* * *

"Here it is!" Mack called out twenty minutes later.

Fudge lit up. "We're here?"

"Look on your right!"

The four passengers obeyed. There it was! The Rust-Eze Racing Center. The building itself appeared to be made entirely of glass and represented a grandstand while the driveway leading up to the building resembled a racetrack. So cool.

Staring at the building in front of her in awe, Fudge got this weird feeling that she'd never had before and couldn't really describe. It was this comfortable combination of excitement and nerves. It was like something was telling her that her future was right in front of her and this was a day that was going to start a lifechanging journey. It reminded her of a quote she'd heard somewhere before: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." Even though she'd never felt like that before, this was what she'd always imagined starting college would be like and it sounded like what Luigi said he and Guido felt like when they first arrived in America, seeing the Statue of Liberty from the boat.

"Wow!" Lightning murmured softly.

"It looks _amazing_!" Fudge exclaimed.

They were both eager to check it out from the inside.

Unfortunately, standing between them and the entrance was a flood of reporters.

"Oh, boy!" Fudge groaned, catching a glimpse at them all. There were times when she didn't mind talking to the press, but this was not one of them.

"Whatever they say to you, just ignore them", Luigi instructed his daughter seriously.

Fudge nodded with equal seriousness. "I will", she promised. This was a warning the human girl had been given time and time again when they arrived at races to find themselves boxed in by the press. So, she knew what was coming next.

"Don't even say, 'No comment.' Just ignore them altogether."

"I know, I know." She didn't mean to sound rude; she'd just heard all of this before, like, a million times. She held up a pair of sunglasses, which she would wear on the way in.

Luigi nodded, satisfied. "Good."

Mack blared out his horn, warning the flood of reporters and photographers to get out of the way as he came through. The second he came to a stop, the trailer door opened and Lightning faced the press. They were snapping his picture and calling out his name.

"How you feeling?" one reporter asked.

"Have you seen the latest records Storm's been setting?" another wanted to know.

"Have you given any thought to retirement?" a third questioned.

"McQueen, over here!" a fourth shouted.

Luckily, Guido and Luigi intervened, so that Lightning and Fudge could get inside.

"Okay, that's enough!" Luigi raised his voice to be heard over everyone else. "No questions! _Scusi_! Out the way! Coming through!"

The two Italians pushed the press back, creating a path. Fudge had put the sunglasses on and pulled her hat as low over her eyes as she could. Still, reporters tried to get her attention.

"Miss Rossi-Topolino! As McQueen's crew chief, what changes do you propose for his training?"

"What are your plans if McQueen retires?"

"Would you consider being a crew chief for one of the Next Gens?"

"Fudge! Fudge!"

Fudge always thought that having the paparazzi shout your name and take your picture would be glamourous and exciting. Well, it turns out she was only half right. Sometimes, it was, but sometimes, it was also annoying and stressful. Being famous could be a blessing and a curse.

"Hey!" Luigi barked, to the human girl's relief. "Leave my daughter alone! Okay, back up! Back up! She is just a child! Stop talking to her!"

Thank Chrysler! Fudge had made it through the automatic door behind Lightning.

Fudge giggled, watching her fathers tell the press off. "They're mad! It's funny when it's not happening to me!"

"No pictures!" Luigi ordered as he and Guido joined the other two inside. "No, no, no! Okay! Thank you! Bye-bye!" He sighed with relief. "Oh, Guido! _Can_ you _believe_ them?!"

"Paparazzi!" Guido exclaimed in disgust, pretending to spit, just in case he hadn't gotten his point across.

Fudge grinned as she slid her hat away from her face. "The hat didn't turn out to be such a bad idea after all!" she proclaimed, replacing her sunglasses with her regular glasses.

The other three gave her amused grins.

* * *

Now that they were all inside, they looked around. The inside was just as impressive as the outside. A large red sculpture in the shape of the number 95 greeted them and there were ramps going off in every direction and 95 banners everywhere. Looking around at it all, Fudge felt very small. That excited, nervous feeling still lingered inside of her.

"Wow!" she and Lightning whispered in unison.

"Looks good, doesn't it?" a new voice piped up. It was Dusty, who showed up with his brother, Rusty. They looked so out of place in the clean, fancy, sophisticated building.

"Hey, guys!" Lightning greeted them.

"Hi!" Fudge grinned.

"What do you think?" Dusty wanted to know.

"What do I think? It's _unbelievable_!" Lightning exclaimed.

"You guys were right", Fudge chimed in. "For _once_", she added teasingly. "This _is_ wicked awesome!"

Dusty looked around as did everyone else. "Yeah, you know, it's kind of a cosy, humble little place."

"Guys, how did you ever _do_ this?" Lightning asked the question he and his friends had been wondering for the past couple of days.

"You wanna tell him or should I tell him?" Dusty quizzed his brother.

"You start!" Rusty urged him. "Go ahead, go ahead!"

"Should we be sitting down for this?" Fudge questioned, only half-jokingly.

"Don't bother!" Dusty told her. "I think you'll stand straight up when you hear it."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense!" Lightning cried. "What's going on?"

Dusty cleared his throat and dropped a bomb on an unsuspecting Lightning and Fudge. "We sold Rust-Eze! Huh?" He and his brother looked and sounded very excited.

"Wh- _What_?!" the two exclaimed simultaneously.

"What? You think a couple of jabronis like us could do this on our own?" Dusty laughed.

"Wait. You sold Rust-Eze?" Lightning couldn't get past that part. Neither he nor Fudge could believe how much was changing. It seemed like they didn't have time to get used to one thing before another came snowballing along.

"It's all good news!" Dusty assured him hurriedly. "We're just realising you... needed something... we couldn't give you." That was unbelievable. They'd sold their company- their entire life's work- just to help Lightning. Although, he was probably the reason they _could_ sell their company, what with being the main reason they were a household name and all. "We felt like the time was right for us too. I mean, we're not as young and handsome as we look." He laughed.

"Oh, that's true", Rusty agreed.

"Yeah, it is", Fudge teased.

"Fudge! You're supposed to say, 'No you're not, Rusty and Dusty! I still love you!'" Rusty informed her, prompting more laughter from everyone except Lightning.

"Besides", Dusty went on, seeing the uncertain look on Lightning's face, "this Sterling fellow, he's got every hi-tech thing you'll ever need. Everything we wanted to give you, but couldn't."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" McQueen stopped him. "Sterling? Who's Sterling?"

"Lightning McQueen!" a friendly voice called out from somewhere above them. Looking up, they could see a stylish silver car. "You made some serious time, partner."

Fudge looked to the Rust-Eze brothers. "I'm guessing this is Sterling?"

Dusty nodded. "Your new sponsor. He's the Mud Flap King of the Eastern Seaboard."

"Welcome to the Rust-Eze Racing Center!" Sterling greeted the race car warmly as he rolled down one of the many ramps. His physical appearance contrasted greatly with Rusty and Dusty's. "You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this!"

"Thanks, uh... Mister..."

"Please", Sterling cut him off. "No 'Mister'. Just Sterling. I have been a fan of yours forever. And to be your sponsor? How great is that? I can't thank Rusty and Dusty here enough. Tough negotiators, by the way", he added.

"Oh, you flatter us!" Dusty put in. "But don't stop!"

He, his brother and Sterling laughed.

"Oh, and Mr. Sterling?" Lightning gestured to Fudge. "This is my very talented crew chief and awesome little sister, Fudge Rossi-Topolino."

"It's nice to meet you", Fudge offered.

Sterling looked the human girl up and down. "Oh, yes. I've seen you on TV and one of my trainers has told me all about you. She seems to be a big fan." Nobody paid any attention to it at the time, but Sterling didn't really sound all that interested in Fudge. He was probably just excited to meet Lightning McQueen and distracted by what was happening with him. He shook Fudge's hand, looking as though he didn't really want to. "I never knew humans could be crew chiefs."

Fudge nodded. "I'm the only one in the Piston Cup."

Sterling nodded curtly before shifting his attention to the three cars. "Anyway, just wanted to say a quick hello", he told Lightning as a forklift appeared with a tablet, wanting the silver car's attention. "Take as much time as you need. Door's always open, guys", he added to Rusty and Dusty, driving off.

Lightning was still doubtful. So was Fudge. Sterling seemed perfectly nice, aside from seeming a little indifferent to Fudge. Plus, he appeared to know what he was doing. Still, he wasn't Rusty and Dusty and he didn't change how they both felt about all of the changes that were happening.

"See?" Dusty told Lightning.

* * *

Unfortunately, it was time for Rusty and Dusty to go. Fudge decided to join Lightning in seeing them out.

"I can't believe you would do this for me", Lightning murmured on their way to the door. "I mean..." He trailed off.

"Come on, Lightnin'. You've done so much for _us_", Rusty pointed out. "Consider this returnin' the favour."

"Well, thanks, guys. This means a lot."

"Yeah", Fudge agreed.

By then, they were at the door.

"Well, I... I sure am gonna miss racing for you guys", Lightning commented with a sad smile.

"I'll miss you guys too", Fudge added, hoping she wasn't getting too mushy. "Don't let this be goodbye forever."

"Yeah." Lightning tried to find his voice. "You're welcome in Radiator Springs anytime."

"We'll definitely take you up on that sometime", they promised.

There was a pause as the four of them tried to figure out what to say or do next.

"You know, you've given us a lot of great memories, Lightning", Dusty told the race car sincerely. "Memories we'll... remember."

"Wow!" Rusty exclaimed. "That's good."

Fudge gave a small smile. "As opposed to memories you'll forget?"

The Rust-Eze brothers laughed and Dusty instructed her, "Fudge, keep up that great personality. You too, Lightning."

"I will", both of them promised at the same time.

At that moment, Fudge came forward and gave both brothers a hug. She'd known them since she was a little kid and it was going to be hard to see them leave. She just hoped it really _wouldn't_ be goodbye forever.

"Fudge, stop it!" Dusty chuckled, returning the hug. "You're gonna make me cry!"

"And if _he_ starts cryin', _I'm_ gonna start cryin'!" Rusty added.

Fudge gave a sheepish smile and stepped back.

"Hey, Lightning?" Dusty began. "Whatever you do..."

"Don't drive like my brother!" Rusty told him, reversing to drive out of the automatic doors.

"Don't drive like _my_ brother!" Dusty finished.

With that, the two brothers rolled out, only to be swarmed by the reporters and photographers who were still out there.

"Please. No... No pictures", Dusty requested as they were surrounded. "Okay. Maybe one, but get my good side, will ya?"

Fudge and Lightning couldn't help laughing. That was classic Rusty and Dusty.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Fudge quizzed Lightning once they were gone.

He sighed. "I don't know... I guess I'm just gonna miss Rusty and Dusty."

"Me too", Fudge agreed.

"I still can't believe they did all this for _me_."

"Yeah, they must really love you."

They cheered up, though, when something attracted their attention. There was a separate part of the entrance where several displays had been set up. Photos and all kinds of memorabilia of Lightning McQueen were there. As Fudge read the information, she was impressed. Whoever had done all of this- Sterling, probably- had clearly done their homework. They were both blown away.

"This place is amazing!" the human girl whispered. For some reason, in a place like that, she felt like she should be whispering.

Lightning nodded. "I know. I know so many things have been changing lately, but I really feel like this is the beginning of an exciting new adventure."

It was Fudge's turn to nod. "I know. I feel the same way." If it was the beginning of an exciting, new adventure, then Fudge was glad that he'd brought her along for the ride.

"So", a voice spoke up from behind them, "you like it?"

"Oh, hey, Mr. Sterling", Lightning greeted him. "Wow. My career on a wall. Nice that you included Doc", he added, noting all of the info on the Hudson Hornet presented. Of course, in his racing days, he was known as the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, but when he became the crew chief for Lightning McQueen, he became more well known as Doc since that was what Lightning called him.

"Of course. He was your mentor", Sterling pointed out. "Losing him left a giant hole in the sport."

"Yeah", Lightning agreed.

"More than just the sport", Fudge put in. Even six and as half years after his death, it was still hard with Doc not around.

Lightning knew what she meant- after all, he felt the same way- and gave her a sympathetic smile.

Luckily, before the mood could go down completely, something else grabbed McQueen's attention.

"Jars of dirt?"

"_Sacred_ dirt", Sterling explained. "Each of those jars contains dirt from all the old tracks that Doc raced on. Florida International, Thunder Hollow just down the road and our very own Fireball Beach right outside."

"Awesome!" Fudge proclaimed. Ever since she'd watched Ferrari races on TV with Guido and Luigi as a toddler, she'd had a passion for racing. Then knowing Lightning McQueen and the Fabulous Hudson Hornet made keeping such a passion in her life inevitable. So, she knew all of these places, but the Florida International was the only one she'd been to. Though, if they really were right outside and just down the road, maybe she'd get the chance to visit Fireball Beach and Thunder Hollow. She sure hoped so.

Then something _else_ attracted Lightning's attention. "Hey! Is that..."

"A bit of asphalt from Glen Ellen!" his new sponsor answered the unvoiced question.

"My first win!" the race car recalled excitedly.

"Awesome!" Fudge repeated. She hadn't known Lightning back then, but she'd seen clips of that race. It was an amazing finish and the rookie was so happy to have won his first race.

"You really _are_ a fan!" Lightning commented to Sterling.

"I am", he confirmed. "And a fan of your future. Are you ready for it?"

Lightning grinned. "Definitely!"

And for the first time in a long time, he felt like he was. Fudge was excited too. This was it. They were going to start an incredible journey. To the future.

"I think we're gonna have some fun here", was the teenager's contribution to the discussion.

Sterling started to drive away. "First, let's get you into a more... contemporary look."

The stock car was slightly surprised as he followed Rust-Eze's new owner. "Uh... What exactly do you have in mind?"

**One thing I want to explain is: I know it's never explicitly stated in the movie, but I get the impression that Sterling is a sexist. I could be wrong, but I kind of feel like he doesn't see Cruz as a racer because she's a woman (amongst other reasons, possibly.) After all, besides Cruz, the only female you see at the Rust-Eze Racing Center is a janitor. All of the racers are guys. So, if this is the case, I can hardly see him thinking that humans belong in racing. That's why he's a little indifferent towards Fudge.**

**Please review! I haven't been getting many reviews lately, so please let me know if you are enjoying this! Thank you.**


	14. Enter Cruz Ramirez

**I realised that I never replied to a guest review from chapter ten, which I meant to reply to: Yeah, I know I have put poor Fudge through a lot with being beaten by the Lemons and her accident. Don't worry, though. Nothing as terrible as that happens to her in this story. Of course, there are complications (there wouldn't be much of a story if there weren't), but nothing _too_ drastic.**

**I know I've been updating a lot lately, but that's because I've got so much work sitting around that I wanna show you all. Well, we've hit a milestone in this story... *Does the really long fanfare from _SpongeBob_* Cruz Ramirez has arrived! I hope you enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 14- Enter Cruz Ramirez**

What Sterling had in mind, as it turned out, was an electronic suit for Lightning, which was melted onto him with a heater.

"Wow!" Lightning exclaimed once that was done, checking himself out.

"Oooh! Shiny!" Fudge cried, admiring the shiny dark red and gold suit. "You look great!"

He smiled at her. "Thanks."

"It's an electronic suit", Sterling explained. "With it, we'll be able to track your speed and your vital signs."

"Does it have a phone?!" Lightning questioned excitedly.

"Don't be crazy!" Sterling laughed. "Race cars don't have phones."

* * *

It was time to see the rest of the facility.

"Wow!" was the first word out of Lightning's mouth as they entered the training area. It was like stepping forward fifty years into the future. There was so much technology that the three cars and one human from Radiator Springs didn't know what it was all for.

"Not bad, huh?" Sterling replied.

"This is really impressive!" the 95 racer confirmed. He turned to his crew chief. "Fudge, what do you think?"

"I think we're not in Kansas anymore", she answered in amazement, making the others laugh.

"This centre has quickly become the most coveted destination for young racers training to make our team someday", Sterling played the role of tour guide. "And it's where you'll train until you leave for Florida." He began to point out some of the many great things they had at their disposal. "Treadmills, wind tunnels, virtual reality."

Two racers were using the virtual reality, which Fudge thought sounded pretty cool. However, there was a disadvantage. The big goggles over their windshields meant that they couldn't see and they bumped into each other. Fudge giggled.

"Still working on that", Sterling added. "And the best fitness regimen anyone could possibly imagine."

"Wait, wait!" Lightning cried. He'd seen the main reason they'd come all that way. "Whoa! Is that... a _simulator_?!"

Indeed it was. In front of them, a shiny yellow car was whizzing around a virtual racetrack.

"Oh, yes", Sterling confirmed. "Lightning McQueen, I'd like to introduce you to the multi-million dollar flagship of interactive race simulation. The XDL 24 GTS Mark Z."

"The XDL... et cetera", he murmured softly and dreamily. He was blown away by this piece of technology.

"Jackson Storm _wishes_ he had this model", Sterling informed them.

"Do you _love_ it?" Fudge teased.

The stock car nodded, refusing to take his eyes off the simulator. "I do. I really do."

Fudge smirked. "Then why don't you _marry_ it?" she joked. "We'll find Sally someone else."

Lightning rolled his eyes. "Really, Fudge? How old are you again?"

Fudge responded by blowing a raspberry. Lightning laughed.

They glanced up at the screen, which had the racer's top speed lit up on it. One-ninety-three. Not bad. Not bad at all. A set of checkered flags appeared on the screen as well.

"Whoo!" the yellow car exclaimed as it came to a stop. It was a woman with cocoa brown eyes. She looked at a bunch of other racers waiting for her. "It's just like being on a real track, so put your hours in!"

"Nice job!" Fudge commented.

To her embarrassment, the yellow car had heard her. "Wow! Thanks!" Then she did a double take. "You're Fudge Rossi-Topolino, aren't you?"

Fudge nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I am." _Here it comes! _she thought to herself, preparing to be bombarded with all kinds of comments and questions about Lightning McQueen.

"Oh, my gosh! I can't believe it's you! This is awesome! It is such an honour to meet you! I am such a big fan!"

"Thanks..." For a moment, Fudge was happy to hear that and she guessed that this was the trainer that Sterling had said was a fan. Then she realised that this car probably meant that they were a fan of Lightning. She was used to it, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

The yellow car turned her attention back to the three guys, who had been watching her on the simulator. "Okay, let's hit the treadmills! Come on! Show me what you got!"

They all rolled past with all three guys calling out a sarcastic, "Nice hat!" to Fudge.

"Wow! Pretty fast!" Lightning declared. "Who's the racer?"

"No, no, no, no. She's not a racer", Sterling corrected him.

"Could've fooled me", Fudge mumbled to herself.

"She's a _trainer_. Cruz Ramirez. The best trainer in the business."

The racers had been led over to a line of treadmills with Cruz on one in front of them.

"Ready to meet it, greet it..." she began.

"And defeat it!" her trainees finished with her.

"All right! Now, bring up those RPMs!"

It was impressive to watch her. She didn't have fake perkiness like Fudge always imagined fitness trainers had. She seemed genuinely bubbly and energetic.

Lightning laughed. "Like the attitude!"

"Yeah, we call her our Maestro of Motivation", Sterling informed him.

And it was time to see the Maestro work her magic.

"You're driving a little tense again, Ronald", she observed.

"No, no, no!" Ronald, the Next Gen on the end treadmill, disagreed. "I'm cool, I'm cool!" Although, nobody knew who he thought he was kidding. He _was_ super tense. Anybody could see it.

"Do your exercise!" Cruz sang.

A picture of a car-shaped cloud appeared on the monitor above Ronald.

"I am a fluffy cloud", he chanted. "I am a fluffy cloud. I am a fluffy... cloud." He relaxed and his speed increased dramatically. It really _was_ like magic.

"There you go!"

"You're a cloud!" the racer next to Ronald taunted.

"Shut up, Kurt!" Ronald shot back.

"Here come the bugs, Kurt!" Cruz called. "You ready?"

Kurt braced himself as a sprayer blasted some bugs into his face.

"Ew!" Fudge made a face.

"Well, that _is_ a problem on the track, Fudge-O", Lightning reminded her. Fudge knew, though. Before her older brother forbade her from setting foot on a racetrack ever again, she'd had her share of bugs fly into her mouth.

"Hey!" Kurt exclaimed proudly. "I kept my eyes open this time!"

"Gotta see that track!" Then Cruz shifted her attention to the third and final car on the treadmills. "Oh, no! Homesick _again_, Gabriel?"

"_Si_", Gabriel replied, sounding depressed.

All it took was for a picture of his hometown to appear on the screen in front of him to cheer him up and get his speed going.

"Win for them!" Cruz told him.

"Wow!" Lightning cried. It seemed to be his word of the day.

"I wish I had someone like to help me do my homework!" Fudge commented, half-jokingly, half-serious.

Luigi frowned. "Guido and I always make sure you do your homework", he pointed out.

Fudge smiled. "You know what I mean."

"Homework?" Sterling repeated, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously. "Are you still in school?"

"Well, I'm home-schooled", Fudge clarified.

Sterling shook his hood before turning his attention back to Lightning. "She trains young racers to push through their own obstacles. Tailor-made for each one. Now, she's going to work with you."

Fudge nodded enthusiastically. She already liked Cruz Ramirez and had a feeling she'd be fun to work with. "Great!"

Lightning nodded. "Yeah! Great!" Fudge was pretty sure he sounded pleased, but couldn't be entirely sure. Why was reading and understanding emotions so hard?

"Hey, Cruz!" Sterling called out.

She abandoned what she was doing and joined her boss and the four newcomers. "Oh, hey, Mr. Sterling!"

"I'd like to introduce you to Lightning McQueen."

"I hear you're the Maestro", Lightning told her.

"Mr. Sterling, did you say Lightning McQueen was here? Because..." She smirked. "I don't see him anywhere."

There was a moment of silence with everyone looking at one another, thinking the same thing.

"Uh, but he's right here", Luigi voiced everyone's confusion. He gestured to the racer in question. "Do you not see him?"

"Nope", Cruz replied. "Still don't see him."

"HE'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!" Luigi exclaimed, his voice going really high, making Fudge laugh. "It's Lightning McQueen!"

"He's obviously an imposter!" Cruz insisted, driving around Lightning to get a better look at him. "He looks old and broken down..."

"Hey!" he cried defensively.

"With flabby tyres..." she went on, ignoring him.

"I do _not_!" he argued.

All of a sudden, Cruz whipped around, yelling, "**USE THAT!**"

Needless to say, everyone was quite startled.

"Whoa!" Lightning cried, but then he realised what was going on. "Oh. Yeah, I see. I can use that energy for motivation, right?" He gave a little growl.

"It's all _about_ motivation, Mr. McQueen", Cruz agreed. "You can use anything negative as fuel to push through to the positive!"

"Well, I've been pretty positive ever since I was a rookie", he pointed out. Now, _his_ voice was getting higher.

"Yeah, _that_ was the problem!" Fudge reminded him, thinking of how overconfident and cocky he was when she first met him.

"I am so excited that I get to train you!" Cruz gushed and she _did_ sound genuinely excited. "I grew up watching you on TV!"

Lightning was beginning to get uncomfortable. "Huh. Is that right?"

"These young guys are great and all", Cruz went on, "but I like a challenge."

Seeing that Lightning was still uncomfortable, Fudge jumped into the conversation. "Well, there's no doubt training a veteran will be different from training a rookie."

Still, the stock car gave a nervous laugh. "Besides, I'm not that much older, but-"

"In fact", Cruz interrupted, not seeming to hear him, "I call you my Senior Project."

Okay. _Now_, Lightning was officially insulted.

* * *

At that moment, another forklift showed up with another iPad, wanting Sterling's attention.

He nodded and turned back to Lightning and Cruz. "Excuse me. I'll leave you two to get better acquainted."

There was an awkward silence once Sterling was gone. Nobody seemed to know what to say or do. Finally, Fudge raised her hand tentatively.

"This isn't kindergarten, you know", Lightning reminded her. "You don't have to raise your hand if you wanna say something."

"I know." Fudge lowered her hand and stuffed it into the pocket of her jacket, embarrassed. "I just didn't wanna... you know... interrupt."

"Interrupt what?" Cruz asked with a smile.

"What is it, Fudge?" Lightning questioned impatiently.

"I was just wondering... What are we supposed to do while you guys are training?" she wondered, speaking for herself, Guido and Luigi.

"Why don't you help me?" Cruz suggested. "You're Mr. McQueen's crew chief. I could use help from someone who knows Mr. McQueen and what he's used to with his training."

"Okay!" Fudge agreed. Combining her knowledge of Lightning's training methods and Cruz's knowledge of Next Gen training methods sounded like a very good idea.

"Oh, I am so excited that I get to work with _Fudge Rossi-Topolino_!" Cruz exclaimed again. "_And_ have her as my roommate!"

"Roommate?" Fudge repeated, surprised.

"Yeah, you guys are staying here in the dorms, right?"

"We are?" Fudge looked around at the others, confused.

"I guess so", Lightning replied, sounding just as unsure as Fudge herself.

"Okay..."

"Well, it'll be so much fun! Although, you do have to wear this." Cruz handed her a black T-shirt with the Rust-Eze Racing Center logo and TEAM 95 on the front in red. Cruz had the exact same logo on each of her sides.

"Where did you get this from?" Fudge wondered, taking it. She hadn't seen a single human since her arrival.

"Oh, I told Mr. Sterling about you and he said he wanted you to wear this if you're gonna be here. Something about looking the part."

"I guess that makes sense." The human girl looked down at her outfit. She supposed that wearing a T-shirt with the logo of a drink brand that cars didn't even drink didn't exactly say _professional crew chief_ (that kind of thing didn't matter to Rusty and Dusty, but she could understand why it would matter to Sterling). "Is there anywhere I can go and change?"

"Sure. The bathrooms are down that hall and to your left." Cruz pointed in the direction of the bathrooms.

Fudge nodded in both comprehension and appreciation. "Thanks."

When the sixteen-year-old returned two minutes later, she was still wearing the same hat, jacket, pants and shoes, but had exchanged her Coca-Cola T-shirt for her new Rust-Eze Racing Center one.

"Hey!" Cruz sounded happy. "It fits! I was worried it was gonna be too small!"

"No, it's fine", Fudge assured her. "So, are we ready?"

"Oh, this'll be so much fun! I am such a big fan of both of you! Let's get to work!"

"All right", Fudge agreed, handing her T-shirt over to Guido, who was offering to take it back to the trailer for her.

"Well, I can't start any sooner than right now!" Lightning declared enthusiastically.

"Like the attitude! Come on, Mr. McQueen!"

"Please don't call me Mr. McQueen. I prefer Lightning. Mr. McQueen makes me feel like an old man."

The look on Cruz's face made Lightning want to fall through the floor.

**You know, for ages when I was first writing this story, I had absolutely no idea how I was going to build up Fudge's friendship with Cruz, but in the end, I decided not to build it up. I decided to make them just hit it off. After all, that can happen. (I thought it would help if they spent a lot of time together, which is a reason why I made them roommates at the RRC.) However, that doesn't mean everything's just gonna be sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.**

**Please review. I would kind of like to receive more reviews because it means a lot to me to know what you think, but I guess as long as you're enjoying the story, I'm happy.**


	15. Old Man Training

**Like I did last week when _Cars 2_ was gonna be on TV, I'm gonna celebrate _Cars 3_ being on TV this week with a new chapter of _Driven to Win_!**

**Although, after this, I'm gonna hold off on this story until I finish part two of _Guns and Roses_. I'm trying to get that done for you guys, but I have come down with a severe case of writer's block, but it's getting better. (If you haven't read _Guns and Roses_, which is part of _Our Town: Tales from Radiator Springs_, yet, you should; it's kind of an important two-shot.)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 15- Old Man Training**

Pretty soon, the training had begun. Upbeat, energetic music pulsed through the training room over loudspeakers.

"We need to loosen those ancient joints!" Cruz shouted. "First, the wheels!" she yelled to the beat. "And forward! And rest! And forward! And rest!" She would lunge forward and then stop. Fudge tried to imitate her as well as she could, bouncing to the beat. She didn't _have_ to, but _wanted_ to; after all, she was supposed to continue with regular, gentle exercise after the accident. Lightning was getting involved too, but a lot more slowly and unenthusiastic. "Join me, rest!" Cruz took several deep breaths. "And rest!"

"Is all this resting necessary?" Lightning wondered. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind. All right. It wasn't what he had in mind _at all_.

"We're working you in slowly!" Cruz explained, still talking to the beat. "Yeah, Fudge, you go, girl!" she added, catching sight of the human girl, who was really getting into the exercise. "And reach for your lunch! Reach for your lunch!" she chanted over Lightning's constant protests. "Now, reeeeach to the frooont! What is there? It's your luuunch! Now, backwards! Is lunch there?"

"When do we go on the simulator?" Lightning wanted to know.

"We're working you in slowly!" Fudge reminded him, also speaking to the beat. _Trying_ to, anyway. Rhythm wasn't exactly her strong point. "Have patience, Lightning McQueen! Oh, I suck at this!" she groaned, talking normally.

"You're having a go and having fun!" Cruz pointed out. "That's all that matters!"

* * *

"Well, that was fun!" Fudge proclaimed as she flopped back on the bed in the trailer. They had all returned to the trailers to collect their things before moving into the dorms inside the training centre.

"_Fun_?!" Lightning echoed in disbelief. "I wouldn't call it _that_."

"How did you go on the simulator?" Luigi questioned.

"We never _got_ to the simulator!" the race car groaned.

"Then what were you doing?" Mack wanted to know.

Lightning told them.

"Reach for your lunch, reach for your lunch!" Fudge chanted.

"Fudge, I swear to God!" Lightning stopped her.

"Sorry", she apologised as she got up and started collecting all her belongings. "It just gets stuck in your head." After a pause, she added, "Come on. It wasn't _that_ bad."

"Fudge, we came all this way to use the simulator. _Not_ to reach for my lunch."

"Well, you _have_ been out of training for four months", the human girl pointed out. "Cruz just wants to get you warmed up."

The others nodded in agreement.

"It'll get better, boss", Mack assured him.

It was Lightning's turn to nod. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

Fudge was a little nervous and uncomfortable as she was led up to Dorm 51 (Lightning had Dorm 95 all to himself and Luigi and Guido were sharing Dorm 96 across the hall). She didn't know Cruz all that well and didn't really know what to expect. Plus, she'd never been particularly comfortable sharing a room. She took a deep breath and placed her things on the floor beside her to knock on the door.

"Is that you, Fudge?" Cruz's voice called out.

"Yeah!"

"Come on in!"

So, using the key that Cruz had given her, she opened the door to find a perfectly nice room with red and gold walls covered in all kinds of posters of different racers from Lightning McQueen to racers in the fifties in Thomasville. The curtains even looked like checkered flags and behind them was a gorgeous view of Fireball Beach. The room looked really nice. So, of course, the elephant in the room was the bare rickety old cot, which made Fudge glad she'd brought her own bedsheets from the trailer.

"You like it?" Cruz wanted to know.

The sixteen-year-old nodded. "Yeah! It's great!"

"Sorry about the bed", the yellow car apologised, looking embarrassed. "It was the best we could do on short notice. We've never had any humans here."

"Oh, that's okay", Fudge assured her, sitting gingerly on the bed, fearing it would break. She looked around the room. "So, are these posters yours?"

"Some of them are", Cruz answered. "Some of them were already here."

Fudge nodded. "Cool."

In the bathroom, Fudge showered, put her pyjamas on and brushed her hair and teeth as best as she could. Then she climbed back into her bed.

"Did something seem off about Mr. McQueen today?" Cruz questioned.

"What do you mean?" Fudge wanted to know.

"Well, I don't know him as well as you do, but he didn't seem to be... too happy with what we were doing today."

The human girl took off her glasses and tried to think of a response that wouldn't upset Cruz. "I just don't think it was what he was expecting. It was a little different from what he's used to."

That didn't work. Cruz looked a little upset. "Oh."

"Well, he was the one who wanted to try something new", Fudge pointed out, trying to get into a comfortable position on the cot. "Just keep doing what you're doing."

Cruz nodded. "Okay."

"Reach for your lunch, reach for your lunch!" Fudge chanted almost subconsciously.

The yellow car next to her smiled approvingly. "Now, you're getting it! I just hope Mr. McQueen gets it too."

"I'm sure things'll get better soon", Fudge reasoned. "I know it's cliché, but tomorrow's another day."

"I guess so..." Cruz moved over to turn out the light. "Good night."

"Good night."

However, as soon as the lights were out, both Fudge and Cruz began chanting at the same time, "Reach for your lunch, reach for your lunch!" That made both of them giggle.

"So", Cruz asked abruptly, "what's the funniest thing you've seen Mr. McQueen do?"

"Oh, man!" Fudge exclaimed, giggling. "Where do I _begin_?!"

Pretty soon, the two were whispering and giggling for a large portion of the night as if they'd known each other their whole lives. Fudge didn't know why she'd been so nervous earlier. Cruz was great! With a new friend like this, then things were sure to get better.

* * *

Well, if things were going to get better, they sure as hell didn't the next day. Fudge awoke that morning in a good mood. She'd gone for a long walk across Fireball Beach as part of her regular, gentle exercise before heading over to the training centre, excited to get started on training. However, Cruz had some very... interesting ideas for the day.

"Good morning, Mr. McQueen!" she greeted the race car, who was suspended from a see-saw like contraption. "Looking good!"

All of a sudden, the contraption tilted him sideways. The position of him hanging from that angle reminded Fudge of the first time she saw him, dangling helplessly from the telephone wire. He yelped in surprise and could only ask, "Why?"

"This'll get oil to places it hasn't been in a long time!" Cruz explained. She slid something underneath him and he couldn't believe what it was when he saw it.

"Is that a... _drip pan_?!" he asked incredulously.

"Just in case."

"How old do you think I am?" he demanded.

"A hundred!" Fudge joked.

"Visualise yourself driving fast down a steep hill", Cruz instructed. "I'll be back in a few", she added, starting to drive off. "Come on, Fudge."

Fudge shrugged. "Okay... What are we doing?" She started following the yellow car, mouthing an apology to the shocked Lightning.

"You'll see."

"Visualise?" Lightning echoed. "Wait, wait, Cruz! A few _what_?! Fudge, where are you going? You can't leave me here!" Then, sounding like a defeated child, he whimpered, "I just want to go on the simulator!"

At that moment, a Next Gen passed by and couldn't resist making a joke at the older racer's expense. "How's it hanging... Drip Pan?"

"Fudge, get back here!" Lightning hissed.

"Hold on a sec", the sixteen-year-old girl instructed Cruz. She made her way back to her brother. "What?"

"How am I gonna get faster than Jackson Storm like _this_?!" he demanded. "You're my _crew_ _chief_! You're supposed to help me and make decisions you think are _best_ for me!"

"I know, I know!" Fudge insisted, starting to sound upset. "I don't know what's going on with your training, but Cruz knows more about this kind of thing than I do!" It was hard when she was naturally loud, but Fudge tried to keep her voice down, hoping that Cruz wouldn't hear her and get upset. Luckily, she didn't seem to hear.

"Yeah! I know Cruz is an expert in reaching for lunch and other ridiculous stuff that doesn't even qualify as training methods!" the race car snapped. "Come on! When are we gonna get to do some real racing?!"

"She wants me to go with her now", Fudge pointed out. "Let me see what I can find out. Like you said, I'm the crew chief. Maybe she'll let me know what the plan is."

Lightning sighed. "Fine."

"All right." Fudge ran off after Cruz as well as she could.

* * *

"So, what are we doing?" Fudge wanted to know as they lounged around in a break room. She took a swig of a bottle of water.

"We're gonna talk", Cruz replied. "I mean, we'll be working together a lot for the next two weeks. We might as well get to know each other."

"I guess you're right", Fudge agreed. She couldn't argue with that and, although she wasn't sure about the points of her training methods, Fudge _did_ like Cruz and thought she was perfectly nice.

"So, other than Lightning McQueen", Cruz began, ignoring the shouts of the aforementioned racer ("Can someone get me _down_ from here?!" could be heard all throughout the training centre), "who is your favourite Piston Cup racer?"

"Current or overall?" Fudge asked.

"Overall."

"I really liked the Fabulous Hudson Hornet. He had a pretty big impact on my life too."

"Oh, yeah! You must have known him too if..."

Fudge nodded. "Yeah. He was great both on and off the track. I'd known him since the day I was born. He was the one who delivered me."

"That is so cool!" Cruz declared, sounding mega-excited.

The human girl couldn't help smiling. "Yeah, it is, but he died when I was ten..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Cruz knew he had died, but hadn't been expecting Fudge to talk about that.

"It's okay. I really miss him and all and I don't think I'll ever get over losing him, but I know he's not really gone. You know, every time I get sick or hurt, I'll see him in my dreams. So, I know he's still taking care of me." Normally, Fudge wouldn't talk about that kind of thing to anybody but her family in Radiator Springs, but Cruz seemed so nice and non-judgemental that it didn't even feel weird.

"Well, that's pretty cool."

"Yeah... So, who was _your_ favourite Piston Cup racer? I don't think you told me."

"I love Lightning McQueen, of course and Louise Nash. You know, the Barnstormer? You know her?"

"Yeah. Well, not personally, but I know who she is."

Fudge talked to Cruz for a long time about similar interests, movies, music, favourite foods and family. She learned quite a lot about Cruz like how she grew up in a small town in the south with her aunt and two cousins, both of them older and both of them boys. She even made a casual, offhand comment about wanting to be a racer herself. However, she just kind of glossed over it and didn't go into much detail.

"I've always wanted to be a racer too", Fudge informed her.

"Really?" Cruz seemed interested.

"Yeah."

"Oh! I just remembered!" Cruz exclaimed, evidently wanting to change the subject. She got out her phone and showed Fudge her wallpaper. It was a photo of Fudge herself, Lightning and Cruz. In the photo, Fudge was in a wheelchair and wearing a badge, proclaiming herself as the birthday girl. She recognised it as her thirteenth birthday when Lightning had been determined to cheer her up since this was during her recovery from the accident. So, he'd hosted an event called the Fudge Rossi-Topolino Birthday Bonanza and tons of fans showed up. "I was there!"

"Wow!" Fudge exclaimed. "Awesome!"

"That was so much fun!"

Fudge grinned. "You're telling _me_!"

* * *

After another half hour of talking, Fudge suggested to Cruz that they get back to Lightning. Although, she never asked her about the training plan. She was afraid of hurting her feelings.

"Hey, Hamilton!" Cruz called out.

A series of rapid beeps came from her radio speaker followed by a voice, a computerised British accent. "_Hamilton here._" It sounded exactly like Lightning's international racing friend, Lewis Hamilton.

"What's the time?"

"_Time is ten-twenty-six AM_", it replied.

"All right. We can head back to Mr. McQueen now."

As they did so, Fudge felt both happy and guilty. She was happy because she seemed to be really hitting it off with Cruz and this felt like it was the first time she'd made a real friend on her own. She had her family in Radiator Springs, all of whom she'd known ever since she was born or a little kid and then all of her friends from the racing circuit she'd met through Lightning. It surprised and pleased her how easy she found it to talk to Cruz and she thought that was a pretty big deal. Although, she felt guilty because she kind of felt like a double agent. She was friends with Cruz and didn't feel she could protest to the training methods, in fear of messing up that friendship. Then again, if she did nothing, she wouldn't be fulfilling her duties as crew chief properly, especially when Lightning needed all the help he could get, thus letting him down. She didn't know what she was going to do.

* * *

"Did you talk to her?" Lightning demanded automatically the second he saw Fudge.

"No..." she admitted, bracing herself for the explosion.

"Fudge, that was the plan!" he reminded him, clearly frustrated. "Why didn't you do it?!"

"There was never a right time!" Fudge informed her. Maybe the topics they discussed weren't exactly relevant, but it was true she never got the chance to bring up her questions about the training. Before Lightning could say anything, she kept talking. "_But_ she _did_ mention the treadmills. I know it's not the simulator, but it's something."

The stock car sighed. "I guess so." At least the treadmills were a little more on the right track. (No pun intended.)

* * *

Or maybe not. The next day, Lightning was on a treadmill beside three other Next Gens. While their speed was in the mid-one-eighties, Lightning's was stuck on a measly five miles an hour. Confused, disappointed and annoyed, he looked over at Kurt next to him.

"Sup?" Kurt greeted him.

"Okay!" Cruz called out, appearing in front of Lightning on her mobile treadmill. Fudge was sprawled out on her stomach across Cruz's roof. "Day three: treadmill! I've set a maximum speed to conserve your energy. What I want you to do is visualise beating _this_ guy!" She projected an image of Jackson Storm in front of him.

Lightning grunted. "Storm."

"Uh-huh, that's right! Get him! Get him, Mr. McQueen!"

"Get him?" he echoed. "This thing is only going, like, five miles an hour."

"It's all about visualisation!" Fudge reminded him.

Cruz nodded in agreement. "And we'll work up to the higher speeds right after you take your nap."

Of course, that sent all of the rookies into a fit of laughter.

"Nap?" Lightning repeated. "I don't need a nap."

"If you don't want your nap, can I have it?" his human sister requested. Ever since her accident, she would _never_ turn down the opportunity for a nap.

"Fudge, you don't need a nap", Cruz argued. "Mr. McQueen, you do."

The rookies couldn't stop laughing. Lightning glanced up and when Fudge followed his gaze, she saw Sterling watching them. He did _not_ look impressed.

"Hit him with the bugs!" Kurt taunted.

The veteran racer retaliated by exclaiming, "**I'M _NOT_ TAKING A NAP!**"

"Then we're gonna have to charge you with resisting a rest!" Fudge hooted.

Cruz laughed, but Lightning just gave a deadpan stare to end all deadpan stares.

"You get it?" Fudge quizzed him, giggling. "It's like resisting arrest, but it's resisting a... rest!"

"Very funny, Fudge!" he snapped, sounding anything but amused.

"Uh-oh!" Cruz exclaimed. "Mr. McQueen's getting cranky. He _really_ needs a nap."

That just made everyone laugh even more.

Lightning sighed, admitting defeat. "If I take a nap, _then_ can I go on the simulator?"

Cruz nodded seriously. "Absolutely."

"Fine!" he groaned.

* * *

As Lightning was napping, Fudge and Cruz chilled in the break room again and had another long talk about whatever came to mind. This time, though, Fudge was hoping to casually slip the training plan into the conversation. She got her chance when they caught sight of Kurt going to have a go on the simulator.

"That simulator's pretty cool!" she commented to Cruz as they watched Kurt whip around the virtual track. The human girl tried to keep it light, knowing she often struggled to be subtle.

The yellow car nodded in agreement. "They are! They feel just like being on a real track."

"Oh! That reminds me! Lightning was wondering... when he'd get a chance to go on the simulator. You know, that's pretty much the reason we came all this way."

Luckily, Cruz didn't get mad like Fudge feared she would. "I understand that. He just needs to get warmed up first, that's all. I need to make sure he can handle it."

It was Fudge's turn to nod. "Fair enough." She could understand that; she was just worried that Lightning wouldn't.

"We _will_ get there. I just want him to be ready", Cruz promised. She sighed. "I don't think he likes me."

"I don't think that's it. He's just eager to get on the simulator." Noticing how unconvinced Cruz looked, Fudge added, "You know, he and I didn't like each other at first either."

The yellow car's eyes widened. "You're _kidding_!"

"Nope." Fudge told Cruz the story of Lightning's arrival in Radiator Springs.

* * *

Their next stop was the yoga room. When Lightning awoke from his nap, he joined them, greeted by the smell of burning scented candles.

"Hi!" Fudge greeted him warmly.

He let out a yawn and tried to smile at his sister. He was kind of annoyed at her for goofing off with Cruz, but he still loved her and was glad to see her. "Hey, Fudge!" Then, sounding less enthusiastic and giving her a glare, he added, "Hey, Cruz."

"How was your nap, Mr. McQueen?" Cruz questioned.

"It was... kind of... refreshing, actually", he admitted.

"Told ya!" Fudge broke out into a huge grin. "Naps are great!"

Lightning rolled his eyes with a smile. He knew Fudge loved naps. When she came home from the hospital, he had to keep her awake, which was _much_ easier said than done.

At that moment, another surprise came Lightning's way. A part of the floor lifted up to suspend him into the air.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Okay. What are you- Hey!" he protested as four forklifts each removed one of his tyres.

"What's going on?" Fudge wondered. She asked the question out loud partly because she wanted to know, but mainly to try and show Lightning that she had nothing to do with it.

"You've been driving on tyres a long time", Cruz pointed out to the race car. "Have you ever stopped to get to know them?"

Lightning was clearly confused. "I'm sorry. What?"

"Tyres are individuals", Cruz explained. "You should give each a name."

"Name them?" Lightning scoffed at the idea. "I won't be doing that."

"Mine are named Maria, Juanita, Ronaldo and Debbie Richardson!" his trainer informed him, showing off each one as she said their name.

"What?"

"Long story."

"May I have my tyres back, so I can go on the simulator please?" a bored-sounding Lightning requested.

"Name them!" Cruz ordered.

"This is _ridiculous_!" he exploded. "I'm not gonna name my tyres!"

"Name them!" Cruz repeated.

Lightning glanced helplessly at Fudge.

"The sooner you name your tyres, the sooner you get on the simulator", she reasoned with a shrug.

Reluctantly, Lightning complied. "Uh... Lefty, Righty, Backy, Backy Jr., okay?!"

Fudge giggled. "Great names!"

Lightning gave her a death stare.

"Does this make you mad?" Cruz quizzed the racer.

"Yes it _does_!" he shouted.

Cruz sang out one of her favourite sayings. "Use that!"

**Cruz's backstory is based on the very little I know about the _Cars Origins_ story, _Cruz Control_. There was a preview at the end of _Storm Chasing_, which mentions Cruz growing up in a small town with her Aunt Carla and her two older cousins, Pablo and Victor. Fudge hitting it off with her right away and finding it easy to talk to her is based on when I met my current best friend. I've always found it difficult to talk to people and make friends, but I was surprised by how easy it was to talk to her.**

**And I kind of like the idea that Cruz could've met Lightning before the events of _Cars 3_. It would just be because he meets a lot of fans, he probably wouldn't remember her. So, yeah, that's what's happened.**

**Please review! :)**


	16. Hit a Wall

**This will be the last chapter of this story for a while. I'm putting it on hiatus while I continue with _Ride_. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**The chapter name came from both the simulator incident and the fact that Lightning's kind of hit a wall with his career in the movie.**

**Chapter 16- Hit a Wall**

"This is a nightmare!" Lightning groaned as he met up with Luigi, Guido and Mack.

"What happened _this_ time?" Luigi asked.

"Get this! Cruz wanted me to take a _nap_!"

"_What_?!" the other three cried incredulously.

"I know! And _then_ she wanted me to name my tyres!"

"Why did she want you to do that?" Mack wondered.

"Because she says tyres are individuals!"

"Well, tyres _are_ individuals", Luigi informed him.

Lightning just shook his hood, wondering how it seemed like everyone around him had a screw loose.

"Where is Fudge?" Luigi wanted to know.

"I think she's still talking to Cruz."

"About what?"

"Don't know, but those two have really hit it off."

"Really?" Luigi sounded so proud and excited. He knew how difficult his daughter found it to make friends.

"Yeah."

"Guido!" Luigi squealed ecstatically. "Our daughter has made a friend! That is _fantastico_!"

"_Si_!" Guido agreed, sounding just as excited.

* * *

At that moment, Fudge joined them.

"Hi, guys!" she greeted them.

"_Ciao_!" both of her fathers responded warmly, each giving her a kiss.

"Hey, Fudge", Lightning returned her greeting not so enthusiastically.

Fudge felt a pang of hurt. "Are you still mad at me?"

"Yep", he replied.

"Why are you mad at Fudge?" Luigi questioned.

"She's been goofing around with Cruz when I'm supposed to be training! Maybe this weird training is Cruz's idea, but Fudge is just going along with it!"

"I _told_ you it's because she knows more about these simulators and stuff than we do!" Lightning opened his mouth to protest, but Fudge rushed on. "Do you really think Mr. Sterling, who is obviously a big fan of yours, would let her train you if he didn't trust her?!"

"I guess not", the stock car admitted.

Then, in a much calmer tone, Fudge added, "Would it make you feel better if I said I've talked to Cruz?"

That news seemed to make Lightning's day. "Really?! Oh, thanks, Fudge! That's great! What did she say?"

"We're just getting you warmed up. Like we said, you haven't been in training for over four months."

"So, when am I getting on the simulator?"

"When Cruz thinks you're ready."

"So... You didn't find out when I'm going on the simulator?"

"No..."

"Fudge, when I asked you to find out when I'm going on the simulator, I actually _meant_, 'Find out when I'm going on the simulator!' In case you've forgotten, that's the reason we came all this way!"

"You asked me to find out what the training plan was!" Fudge corrected him, sounding pretty close to tears. "Then I _do_ that and that's not good enough for you!"

Lightning sighed. "Fudge, if I don't get to go on the simulator tomorrow, then I'm gonna have to take matters into my own tyres."

Fudge wasn't sure what he meant, but she was afraid to ask. She just took out her journal and started writing.

* * *

The next day, as usual, Fudge went for an early morning walk across Fireball Beach. When she was heading back to the Rust-Eze Racing Center, she found Cruz waiting for her.

"Hi, Cruz!"

"Hey, Fudge! What were you doing down there?"

"Just going for a walk. You know, I do need regular exercise, but I can't overdo it, so a walk's good for me. And it's really nice down there."

"Really?"

Fudge was surprised. "You've never been?"

"Well, I spend most of my time in the training centre."

"Really?" Fudge looked back to the beach. "It seems like a great place to go for a couple of laps. It's where all the old greats used to race, you know."

"Well, we mostly stick to the simulators and treadmills", Cruz reminded her. "They feel just like being on a real track."

Fudge wasn't so sure about that. It didn't seem to give you the feel of wind on your hood or in your face, or the feel of tyre marbles on the track. The simulators she and Mater had used at CHROME headquarters with Finn and Holley probably could, but this was the Rust-Eze Racing Center and as impressive as it was, the facility didn't have the sophisticated simulators CHROME did. Still, she didn't want to cause an argument, so she said nothing.

* * *

Of course, when they got to the training centre, it was back to the unconventional training.

"And merge! And yield!" Cruz chanted to the same upbeat music. By then, Lightning had stopped participating, but Fudge hadn't. She looked ridiculous, but she didn't care (that was another thing Fudge liked about Cruz; even though they barely knew each other, she was so nice and bubbly herself that Fudge felt like she could be herself around her). "And merge! And yield!" She reversed. "Beep, beep, beep, beep! Now, you got some tyre damage!"

Unbeknownst to both Fudge and Cruz, Lightning was eyeing the simulator. A Next Gen had just gotten off of it.

"Speed bump, speed bump!" Cruz chanted as she and Fudge danced around. "Now, clean up your messy garage! Bug in your windshield, bug in your windshield!"

Remembering what he said to Fudge, the race car announced, "Thank you, Cruz! I'm done!"

With that, he just rolled out.

"And merge! And yield! And merge-" Cruz stopped. "Mr. McQueen, where are you going?"

"To the future!" he hollered back.

"Oh, no!" Cruz exclaimed when she realised where he was going. "He's not ready!"

Fudge grabbed her jacket and followed Cruz to the simulator. "He is just so stubborn!"

* * *

By the time they got there, Lightning was already on.

"Okay. Here we go. Here we go! How do I do this?" he asked. "Come on, baby!"

"Mr. McQueen-" Cruz began.

"Cruz, thank you for the old man training as crazy as it was", he cut her off, "but I'm warmed up enough and now I need you to launch this thing."

"Mr. McQueen, wait until you can handle it! Please!" Cruz protested. "There are no shortcuts!"

"Okay. We'll just see about that!"

"You're not serious about this, are you?" Fudge wondered.

"Of course I am. I _told_ you I'd take matters into my own tyres."

"What about everything you said about how it's not real racing?" Fudge reminded him.

"Hey, if it's working for Storm, then it's gotta work for me."

"Apples and oranges!" Fudge reminded him.

"Both fruit!" he shot back.

"All right!" Sterling called from a balcony. "My star racer is on the simulator!"

"Why, yes I am!" Lightning responded.

"It's like he was talking about Kurt or someone on another simulator!" Fudge whispered, giggling.

Cruz frowned. "There's only _one_ simulator."

"It was just a joke."

"Well, let's see you take it out for a spin", Sterling told Lightning.

"Right away, Mr. Sterling!" he responded. Glaring at Cruz, he added pointedly, "Owner of the company!"

Cruz knew it was two-one, against her. She looked to Fudge.

"You said it's just like a real track", the sixteen-year-old reminded her, pushing her glasses further up her nose. "It's worth a shot. I mean, we told Lightning he wasn't ready, but if it doesn't work, he'll just learn the hard way." Plus, as much as she doubted that the simulator was the right way to go, she _did_ want to see what would happen.

Knowing she couldn't win, Cruz relented reluctantly. "Okay. Have fun." She looked to two nearby forklifts, who started it up.

"This is what I'm talking about!" Lightning exclaimed excitedly.

Fudge already had a bad feeling about this, but it got even worse when Lightning got a surprise before he even started. Clamps appeared from nowhere and secured themselves to his rear wheels.

"Whoa! Didn't know about those!"

All of a sudden, the platform he was on lifted him up into the air.

"_Prepare to race_", a computerised monotone began.

"Wait. What did it say? Is it _talking_?" Poor Lightning was _very_ confused.

"_The green flag is out_", the computer stated.

"But I don't see the flag!" he protested. "What do I do?"

"Go!" Cruz ordered.

"Go?" McQueen echoed, puzzled.

"Go!" Cruz repeated.

"Come on, you're wasting time!" Fudge shouted.

So, he went and, unfortunately, he was off to a shaky start.

"Whoa! That's sensitive!" he observed as he veered all over the place. He gave a surprised yelp as he slammed into a virtual wall.

"_You have hit a wall_", the simulator informed him.

"My bad! I was sending a Tweet!" Fudge quoted a movie jokingly. **(AN: Kudos if you know what movie!)**

"It shouldn't be _this_ hard, should it?" Lightning wondered, ignoring Fudge.

In response to his question, the same thing happened again.

"_You have hit a wall_", the simulator repeated.

"You're fighting the simulator!" Cruz coached him. "Just race like you always do!"

"Just relax!" Fudge added.

However, that was much easier said than done. Lightning kept hitting the walls. The words, "_You have hit a wall_", came from the machine over and over again.

"There can't be this many walls on a regular track!" Lightning groaned.

"This is what I'm like when I play _Grand Theft Auto_!" Fudge commented, laughing.

"Not helping, Fudge!" Lightning shouted and Fudge got the feeling that she should hold off on the jokes until he was less stressed.

Things only proceeded to get worse from there.

"_You have been passed by Jackson Storm_", the simulator announced as a familiar black and blue figure sailed past. The word PASSED followed by JACKSON STORM flashed up on the screen.

"Wait. _Storm's_ in here?!" Lightning questioned in disbelief.

"For motivation!" Cruz explained. "Storm races at two-oh-seven! Pick it up, Mr. McQueen!"

"I'm _trying_!" he snapped.

He struggled, grunting as he tried to pick up his speed. Every time his speed went up, it seemed to come straight down. Then, of course, there was the constant voice telling him, "_You have hit a wall._"

Cruz looked up to find Mr. Sterling watching with a frown.

"Mr. McQueen, come down from there and we'll work you up to this!" she begged.

"I am _fine_, Cruz! I can do it, okay?!"

"Remember when I used to say that to you when I tried to walk on my own?" Fudge put in. "You still didn't let me do it! I say, get off!" She'd seen the look on Sterling's face too.

"Fudge, if you don't have anything useful to say, just keep your mouth shut!" Lightning barked at her.

Half a second later, he was completely out of control.

"_You have jumped the barrier_", the simulator critiqued.

He'd crashed through the barrier to the racetrack and was in the pit area where all hell broke loose. He destroyed everything in his path and the simulator let him know.

"_You have maimed two vehicles. You have destroyed a drinking fountain._"

Fudge was fifty per cent amused, fifty per cent terrified, watching him. Although her heart was pounding and her eyes were wide, she couldn't help snickering at his expense. It got worse when Lightning inadvertently launched himself off a ramp. He screamed as he flew through the air. When he hit the ground hard, he continued to tear through the virtual pits, wreaking virtual havoc.

"_You have disabled an ambulance._" Even worse was when flames appeared on the screen. "_You are on fire. Danger. Danger._"

By that point, it seemed that Sterling had decided he'd seen enough. He drove away. Fudge and Cruz watched him leave, fearing the worst.

"What do we do?" Fudge wondered.

"We have to stop Mr. McQueen for a start!" Cruz replied.

When they looked back to the simulator, the good news was that Lightning was back on the track. The bad news was...

"_You are going the wrong way._"

"Look out, look out!" Lightning called to the cars on the screen. Then it sounded like he'd had enough too. "Turn it off! Turn it off! Get these things off of me!" He shook his rear wheels, attempting to free himself from the clamps.

"Cruz, _do_ something!" Fudge pleaded, knowing that this could only end badly.

* * *

Unfortunately, she was right. When Lightning managed to free himself from the restraints, he was thrust forward, screaming all the way! Everyone winced as several bolts from the machine scattered across the ground when Lightning crashed right through.

"Holy crap!" Fudge exclaimed as she and Cruz rushed to the racer's aid.

"_You have crashed_", the simulator stated the obvious. "_You have crashed._"

"Are you all right?" both Fudge and Cruz asked simultaneously, catching sight of Lightning's hood through the gaping hole in the simulator.

"I've crashed!" he groaned.

The trio thought that things couldn't get any worse. Yet, apparently, it could. As one last final blow for them, a fuse blew in the multi-million dollar machine. The simulator was completely destroyed. Not only that, but the fuse triggered a blackout. In a matter of seconds, the entire Rust-Eze Racing Center descended into darkness. Several of the immature cars around screamed, pretending to be afraid. Fudge face-palmed.


	17. Racing is the Reward

**I wanted to hold off on this story until I finished _Ride_, but since I've almost finished it and I'm currently rereading _Driven to Win_, I figured why not?**

**Enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 17- Racing is the Reward**

"Ow!" Lightning cried. "Hey! Be _careful_, all right?"

"Oh, stop your moaning!" a forklift retorted. "We're _being_ careful!"

Fudge, Cruz, Luigi and Guido, who had to be tracked down to help, and several forklifts who worked at the training centre had grabbed hold of Lightning and were trying to get him out of the screen. It was a difficult task for a number of reasons. One, it was dark and they were only relying on the vehicles' headlights as a light source. Two, they were still trying to figure out how and where everyone should grab the car. Three, Lightning's complaining wasn't exactly speeding things along.

"Okay!" one of the forklifts boomed out. "One... two..."

"Can we go on two instead of three?" another forklift questioned.

"Why?" Cruz wondered.

"Because it's faster."

Lightning groaned. "You know, you could've counted to three, like, five times without all this two talk!" he snapped.

"Okay!" the first forklift repeated. "One... two..."

"So, we're going on two?" the second forklift asked.

Everyone groaned. "Lift!" they all cried, having had enough.

It took a while, but they finally managed to free Lightning. Still, things were going to go from bad to worse. When he was out, a set of headlights approached the group. Lightning's heart sank when he saw who it was. It was Mr. Sterling. It was hard to see his face in the dark, but given that he'd just destroyed a multi-million dollar machine- the model _the_ Jackson Storm wished he had- the group doubted that he'd be very happy.

The Rust-Eze owner turned to a couple of forklifts. "I need you to get the power fixed right away", he informed them.

"Yes, Mr. Sterling." They hurried off.

"Mr. Sterling", Cruz began, "we-"

"I'd like to speak to all three of you", he interjected, eyeing Lightning, Cruz and Fudge.

"_Ooooohhhh_!" some of the immature Next Gens taunted.

"Yes, sir", Cruz responded in a melancholy tone.

"Yeah, all right, Mr. Sterling", Lightning added in an identical tone.

Only Fudge remained silent. She feared whatever it was that Sterling had to say. Sure, he seemed calm now, but once they were alone, would he get mad? Would he yell? For a brief moment, she even wondered- and worried- that he'd sue.

* * *

By the time they got to Sterling's office, she was ready to faint.

"Lightning, why don't you wait here with..." Sterling looked to Fudge. She knew he didn't know her name and didn't care. "I want to talk to Cruz first."

So, Fudge and Lightning waited.

"Lightning?"

"What?"

"I need some water."

"Then go get some."

"Shouldn't we wait until Mr. Sterling talks to us?"

"Fine. Don't." He didn't even bother to hide his irritation.

So, Fudge went, mostly to get some water, but also to get away from Lightning for a while. He'd been in a bad mood for several days, so it would do some good to the sanity of both of them if he just had some space for a while. When she returned, she sat with Lightning outside the door to Sterling's office, trying to decipher what was being said on the other side. They felt like a couple of naughty little kids waiting outside the principal's office. They were nervous, but the water did make Fudge feel better.

"It's not easy for him!" they heard Cruz argue.

"Cruz, relax!" Sterling tried to calm her down.

"Give him another chance!" she pleaded.

"I will talk to him."

"I can still work with him!" Cruz insisted.

"I know you can handle it," Sterling assured her

At that moment, Fudge heard her own name. She couldn't tell what they were saying about her, but there was no doubt that she'd heard Cruz say _Fudge_. She tried to get as close to the door as possible without being too obvious, but she was still unable to hear properly. Meanwhile, Lightning was watching Millie the forklift janitor (apart from herself and Cruz, Millie was the only female Fudge had seen at the training centre) clean the floors. All of a sudden, his eyes widened.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Fudge wanted to know, backing up in fear of having her head bitten off.

"Floor's all washed up and clean", Millie reported.

"I'm... I'm sorry. What?" Lightning appeared to be out of it.

"Said floor's all washed up and clean", Millie repeated.

"Oh. Right." The race car gave a little laugh.

"What's wrong?" Fudge asked again.

"I could've sworn she said, 'You're all washed up, McQueen.'"

"Well, she didn't", the sixteen-year-old assured him. "I heard her the first time."

At that moment, the door opened and Sterling's voice was much clearer.

"Let me handle this my way", he told Cruz. "Thank you very much."

Cruz looked to Fudge and Lightning. "Uh... Good luck, both of you."

Before they had time to dwell on it, Sterling called out to them, sounding surprisingly calm and friendly.

"Hey, Lightning! Come on in! Bring her in too", he added, gesturing to Fudge. "Got something to show you. You ready?"

"Uh... For what?" Lightning questioned as he and Fudge entered uncertainly. It was the last thing either of them wanted to do.

They saw the answer when they came in. An entire wall was filled with Lightning McQueen merchandise- cleaning products, grills and, of course, mud flaps, you name it.

"Wow!" Lightning whispered in amazement.

"What _is_ all this stuff?" Fudge wondered, eyeing it all, impressed, but also kind of sceptical.

She looked around the room and saw two other things that made her uncomfortable. The first was a photo of Sir Miles Axlerod, the mastermind behind the infamous Allinol scandal, the guy Fudge and Mater exposed, thus saving the world and receiving honourary knighthood (which was _awesome_, though neither of them would admit it). The second was a photo of Sterling himself with a pale pink 1959 Cadillac El Dorado with pretty deep blue eyes and whitewall tyres. This car looked a lot like the social worker who had tried to take Fudge away from Radiator Springs when she was five. She and Sterling looked happy together. Two photos of two old enemies in the same room was enough to make anybody uncomfortable.

"You are about to become the biggest brand in racing", Sterling began. "We are talking saturation on all continents for every demographic. Movie deals, infomercials, product endorsements."

"Mud flaps?" Lightning had spotted some with his face and the word KA-CHOW on them. He remembered Rusty and Dusty saying that Sterling was in the mud flap business.

"Of course!" the silver car confirmed. "We'll be rich beyond belief! You think you're famous _now_?!" He laughed.

"I thought you'd be mad about the simulator", Lightning confessed. "I mean, this is all great, Mr. Sterling, I guess, but... I don't know. I never really thought of myself as a... brand."

"Oh, nor do I!" Sterling assured him. "I'm a fan; maybe your most avid. I think of this as your legacy."

Lightning gave a nervous laugh. "That sounds like something that happens after you're... done racing."

Sterling said nothing.

"Mr. Sterling, what is this about?" Lightning wondered, knowing that he had something serious on his mind.

Sterling cut to the chase. "Look, Lightning... I'm not gonna race you."

"_What_?!" Fudge and Lightning cried in unison.

"What do you mean not race me?" the stock car added.

"Hold on, hold on!" Sterling attempted to calm him down.

"I'm not going to Florida?" McQueen sounded crushed.

"Lightning", Sterling started to explain, "you have no idea how excited I was to get you here because I knew- I _knew_\- you'd be back. It was gonna be the comeback story of the year, but your speed and performance just aren't where they need to be. I'm sorry." He started to drive off.

Fudge felt a little guilty about that. If only she'd talked to Cruz properly like Lightning said; then he could've gotten his speed up. This was all her fault.

"We're talking about _speed on a simulator_!" Lightning protested, following the silver car. "Listen to how crazy that sounds!"

Fudge knew from experience that he wasn't going to back down. If someone- usually Doc- wanted to do something Lightning didn't, he would try to break them down and get his own way. It worked more often than you might think. However, the human girl wasn't sure if it would work on Sterling.

"Look, I'm trying to _help_ you!" Sterling argued. "As your sponsor, yes, but also as your friend. Your racing days are coming to an end. Every time you lose, you damage yourself."

A scornful Lightning realised what he really meant. "Damage the _brand_, you mean!"

"Oh, Lightning, come on!" Sterling cried before shifting his attention to Fudge. "As for you, whatever your name is-"

"Fudge", Fudge supplied.

"-I think without Lightning", he went on, ignoring her, "I'm going to need someone with more experience. So, we'll be looking into a new crew chief. If you're still interested in working with race cars, I can offer you an unpaid internship once you graduate high school."

"I don't _want_ to work with race cars", Fudge informed him quietly. "I want to work with Lightning."

"Oh, will you two look at the big picture here? You've done the work. Now, move on to the next phase and reap the reward!"

"The racing _is_ the reward, not the _stuff_!" Lightning countered. "I don't wanna cash in! I wanna feel the rush of moving two hundred miles an hour, inches from the other guys, pushing myself faster than I thought I could go! _That's_ the reward, Mr. Sterling!"

Despite the situation, Fudge had to smile. Every single word that came out of the race car's mouth just then was drenched in passion. He raced simply because he loved it. He'd always loved it. Growing up, he'd always wanted to be a racer and go fast; he'd never wanted to do anything else. It wasn't about the money at all. It never _had_ been!

"As for Fudge", Lightning went on, "she's my crew chief! She's had the job for three years and has spent many more down by the track! I think she can handle it!"

"Oh, Lightning, come on", Sterling sighed, driving away from him again.

Once again, Lightning followed. "Look, I can do this!" he insisted. "I can! I _promise_! I'll train like I did with Doc! I'll get my tyres dirty on every dirt track from here to Florida!" He gestured out the window. "I can start right there on Fireball Beach where all the old greats used to race!"

"Get your tyres dirty?" Sterling repeated sceptically. "_That's_ how you're gonna get faster than Storm?"

"_Yes_! Exactly! I mean, sacred dirt, right?"

Sterling was silent.

"Mr. Sterling, if you care about my legacy- the one that Doc started- you'll let me do this! I _promise_ you! I will _win_!"

"I don't know", Sterling replied, but both Fudge and Lightning could see that the latter had broken him down. "What you're asking... It's too risky."

"C'mon!" Lightning pushed softly. "You like it, I can tell. It's got that little comeback story of the year feel to it, doesn't it?"

Once again, Sterling looked to Fudge. "What do _you_ think?" he questioned, although from his tone of voice, he simply didn't care.

She shrugged. "I think the simulator wasn't working for us."

The Rust-Eze owner was quiet for a long time. Finally, he let out a deep breath and asked, "One race?"

Lightning smiled and nodded, a combination of excited and hopeful. Fudge felt the same way.

"If you don't win at Florida, you'll retire?"

"Look, if I don't win, I'll sell all the mud flaps you got", Lightning answered. "But if I _do_ win, _I_ decide when I'm done. Deal?"

After a moment of silence, Sterling smirked. "Deal."

"Yes!" Fudge cheered, jumping up and down a little.

"Thank you, Mr. Sterling." Fudge climbed up onto Lightning's roof and he started to drive off. "You won't be sorry. Come on, Fudge. Let's get to work!"

"Just one thing!" Sterling called after him, making an announcement to stop the stock car dead in his tracks. "And this is only because I don't like taking chances! You're taking someone with you!"

**I've always kind of shipped Mary Wilcox from _Life Could Be a Dream_ with Sterling (he's, like, her fourth husband), so I referenced it in this chapter. She was originally supposed to appear in the Florida 500 scene, but it just seemed pointless. (Although, you'll be happy to know that she did get fired for what happened in _Life Could Be a Dream_! Just thought I'd let you know here since it never gets mentioned.)**

**More on the way soon! Please review!**


	18. Life's a Beach

**Hi! And if you've just arrived here in this story after reading _Ride_, then welcome! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Chapter 18- Life's a Beach**

"Are you _sure_ about this?" Fudge wondered as she, Lightning, Luigi and Guido made their way down to Fireball Beach the following morning. She'd tried to get herself pumped up, reminding herself that this was going to be fun and Lightning could do this, but she couldn't hide her doubts.

Lightning nodded. "Absolutely!" He paused and added, "Why? You're _not_?"

"Well, I've got mixed feelings about this, to be honest", she voiced her opinion. "I mean, I'm sure you _can_ do this, but there's always the possibility that you _won't_. I guess I'm just a little bit worried about that. I mean, do you _really_ wanna sell mud flaps?"

"Not really", he admitted. "But this was the only way to get Mr. Sterling to let me do this. I just had to take it." While Fudge thought about that, he added, smiling, "Come on! You and I've had a lot of adventures together. This'll just be another one. I can do this. We got this!"

Fudge smiled. "Yeah! Let's go!"

* * *

The weather was gorgeous and perfect for racing. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was windy enough to cool the otherwise warm air, but it wasn't cold. The waves coming from the ocean looked beautiful too, all shimmering. Fudge smiled as she took off her rainbow flip-flops. Since Sterling wasn't around, she could wear whatever she wanted and that was a white fedora, denim jacket, denim shorts, her star necklace and a greyish-blue T-shirt with WEST COAST L.A. CALIFORNIA GOLDEN STATE 1986 written on the front. She felt comfortable in that; not too hot, not too cold. Plus, with nobody from the training centre around, she didn't feel self-conscious about wearing shorts, showing off her scars. Lightning, Luigi and Guido had all seen her scars millions of times, so she didn't mind _them_ seeing.

"All right! Let's do this!" Lightning cried, eager to get the show on the road.

"Yeah!" Fudge cheered, readily armed with a notebook and pen to record his speeds.

"I'll track and record your speeds", she'd promised him that morning, "but other than that, I'll let you do your own thing. I'll be there as your sister, not your crew chief."

However, before they could start, they got a surprise. A familiar voice called out, "You talked him into it! Way to go, Mr. McQueen!"

Lightning sighed when he saw who it was. "Cruz." Though he only said her name, his tone said it all.

"Cruz!" Fudge cheered, running up the beach as fast as she could to greet the yellow car, who was lugging a massive trailer behind her. She'd left before Cruz woke up and, therefore, hadn't known she was coming.

"Hey, Fudge!" Cruz greeted her. "I'm so glad you talked to Mr. Sterling, Mr. McQueen! How did you _do_ that?! You could talk a snowmobile into an air conditioner!"

"You're going with me?" Lightning sounded far from thrilled. "With _that_ thing?!"

"Yeah!" she confirmed. "You still need my help! You're brittle! Like a _fossil_!"

She started opening up the trailer, which was revealed to be a treadmill. Fudge, who had just been returning to the three guys, stopped halfway and turned around to watch the treadmill boot up.

"I don't _need_ a trainer out here, Cruz!" Lightning protested.

"You're old!" she countered. "What if you fall on this beach and can't get up?"

Fudge giggled at the mental image.

"Well, life's a beach!" Lightning shot back. "And then you drive!"

There was a pause before Guido and Luigi started laughing.

"_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_!" Fudge cried out slowly, grinning, pointing at the stock car.

"Oh, McQueen!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Thank you!" the stock car replied casually.

"But I thought life was a highway!" Fudge joked, referring to the song they often sang on the road.

Lightning rolled his eyes, but he was grinning a little.

"This is beautiful!" Cruz proclaimed, looking around at the beach and the weather. Either she didn't get Lightning's joke or she simply chose to ignore it; most likely the latter. "I can see why you come down here every day, Fudge." She looked back at Lightning. "And why Mr. Sterling said you wanted to train out here. As soon as this thing's booted up, we'll get you on the treadmill and I'll track your speed."

"What?!" Lightning cried incredulously. "_No_! The whole idea is getting my tyres dirty! _Real_ _racing_! I'm not driving on that thing when I've got the sand! And the whole _Earth_!"

Both of them looked to Fudge, who was standing halfway between them. **(AN: Symbolism! :))** Fudge was silent for quite a while, readjusting her glasses, scraping her teeth across her tongue and even pushing her tongue through the gap where her top two front teeth had once been, thinking of what to say, not wanting to hurt either of them. Her head said, _Lightning needs_ _you to help him win! This is important to him!_ Yet her heart said, _Cruz is your friend; you_ _can't hurt her. But Lightning is your brother; you can't hurt_ him _either._

"Don't you think a treadmill kind of defeats the whole purpose of being out here?" she asked Cruz finally, trying to sound logical, but polite.

A tone sounded to say that the treadmill was ready.

"Oh. Okay." Embarrassed, Cruz shut the treadmill down.

"Luigi", Lightning called, "let's do this."

So, everyone got ready, leaving Cruz behind. Fudge shot her friend a sympathetic look as they went off.

"Welcome, racers, to Fireball Beach!" Luigi began, holding a green flag. "Historic home for today's great test of speed! Our finish line will be the abandoned pier in the distance." He gestured to it.

"All right", Lightning whispered to himself in order to get psyched up. "Quicker than quick, faster than fast... I... am... speed."

"That is great self-motivation!" Cruz interrupted him. "Did you come up with that?"

"Yeah! I did!" McQueen answered, clearly annoyed.

"Note to self: More of that!" Cruz announced.

"Yeah, but you probably shouldn't distract him again when he's doing that", Fudge whispered to Cruz. "One time, I did and he nearly bit my head off!"

"Fudge!" Lightning called. "You're doing it again!"

The sixteen-year-old looked back at Cruz. "See what I mean?"

"Fudge!" Lightning hissed.

"On your mark!" Luigi called it after Fudge had mumbled an apology. "Get set! Go!"

Lightning shot off. Pretty soon, he was just a dot on the horizon, leaving behind a blazing trail of sand. The other four watched, impressed. Cruz was completely awestruck, watching the race car. He was going faster than anybody had seen him go in a long time. Awesome. Totally awesome. When he shot under the pier, he came to a stop, sending sand flying.

"Whoo-hoo!" he cheered. "There you go! Felt good!"

"_There's_ the Lightning McQueen we know and love!" Fudge cheered upon his return.

He couldn't help grinning as he turned to Cruz. "Hey. What was my speed?"

"I don't know", she answered. "I can only track you on the treadmill."

"You gotta be _kidding_ me!" Lightning groaned.

"Well, how was _I_ supposed to know you wanted me to track your speed?"

"It's not rocket surgery, Cruz! If I'm gonna _train_,_ of course_ I wanna track my speed!"

"So, get on the treadmill!"

"_No treadmills!_" he insisted.

Once again, both of them looked to Fudge, each expecting her to be on their side, which put the teenage girl in a very difficult position.

She sighed and finally suggested to Cruz, "Is there _any_ other way we can track his speed?"

The yellow car brightened at that. "Oh! What about Hamilton?"

"_Hamilton here!_" the computerised voice came from her radio speaker after several rapid beeps.

"Who's Hamilton?" Lightning wondered.

"My electronic personal assistant", Cruz explained. "You know, like on your phone." She gave a little laugh. "You do have a phone, don't you?"

"Race cars don't have phones, Cruz", Lightning replied.

"But you only just found that out yourself the other day!" Fudge reminded him. She didn't want to add that while she had a phone, she rarely used it and really only had it for safety reasons. She didn't want Cruz thinking that she was uncool. That was something that the yellow car was bound to learn over time.

"Hamilton! Track Mr. McQueen's speed and report it!" Cruz ordered.

"_Tracking_!" Hamilton confirmed with another series of rapid beeps.

"I'll stay as close as I can", Cruz explained to Lightning. "Your suit will transmit your speeds to Hamilton."

"Fine! Whatever!" Lightning sighed, eager to get on with training and getting his speed up. "Let's do this."

He and Cruz lined up together in front of Luigi.

"Let's go, guys!" Fudge cried.

"Quicker than quick, faster than fast, I am speed!" Lightning recited quickly. "Come on, Luigi."

"On your mark, get set and go!" The Fiat lowered the flag yet again and sent the two racers on their way.

They were off! Correction: _Lightning_ was off. Unfortunately, he could only get up to sixty-three miles an hour before Hamilton started blaring at him, "_Out of range, out of_ _range, out of range."_

Lightning skidded to a halt to see what the problem was. The problem turned out to be a big one. Cruz hadn't even moved from the starting line!

"Huh. That's odd!" she proclaimed, trying to move. "I didn't go!" Her rear tyres sprayed sand all over Fudge.

McQueen returned to the starting line, looking exasperated. "Why didn't you go?"

"I don't know. I just..." She was trying to start as if she were on the asphalt.

"On sand, you gotta ease into your start, so your tyres can grab, okay?" Lightning coached his trainer.

"Okay." She nodded.

"You do work with race cars, don't you?"

"Yeah, but never outside!" Cruz protested.

"Don't be so hard on her", Fudge jumped to the yellow car's defence. "This kind of thing wasn't easy for _you_ at first either. This is new to her."

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that", Lightning admitted, remembering his first disastrous attempts at racing on dirt. "All right. Let's go again."

"Take two!" Fudge called out.

"Go!" Luigi shouted.

Fudge had to hand it to Cruz. She was a fast learner. She got the hang of what Lightning had told her straight away.

"There you go!" Lightning told her.

Even so, that didn't mean that she didn't have a lot to learn. Once Lightning hit seventy-five miles an hour, Hamilton was blaring again. "_Out of range, out of range, out of range._"

Once again, he stopped to see what was going on, only to find Cruz stuck in a sand dune.

"Sorry!" she called out. "Got stuck!"

"Go again!" The stock car was clearly annoyed.

First, though, they had to rescue Cruz.

"How did you even get stuck?" Lightning wondered when she was out and they were returning to the starting line.

"I don't know! One second, I was racing; the next thing I knew, I was in the dunes."

"Well, you gotta stay clear of the dunes."

"Okay. Lesson learned", Cruz assured him.

"All right", Lightning sighed. "Third time's the charm."

"And go!" Luigi announced.

Third time's the charm? Well, not quite. This time, Cruz went in the opposite direction, into the water.

She yelped as a cold wave splashed her. "Sorry!"

Lightning groaned. "I thought it was _obvious_ that you weren't meant to end up in the water!"

"I _said_ I was sorry!" Cruz shot back.

"Yeah, well _sorry_ isn't gonna get me faster than Storm!" He gave the heaviest sigh he could muster. "All right. Let's try this _again_!"

"Go!" Luigi called out.

When Cruz's performance didn't improve, even Fudge had lost patience with her and found other means of entertaining herself: sliding down the crumbling sand dunes as she watched Cruz spin out.

"Take forty-six!" she'd hollered right before Cruz found herself half-buried in sand.

"The beach ate me!" the trainer proclaimed, making Fudge giggle.

By that point, Lightning was just about ready to kill Cruz. It took nearly two hours to get her out of the hole; two precious hours that could've been spent training _wasted_!

"All right, Cruz", he began, "pick a line on the compacted sand. Gotta have traction or you're gonna spin out. Let's do this thing."

"On your mark, get set, go", Luigi sent them off, no longer putting any energy into it.

For the millionth time, they took off. Lightning was able to get up to a higher speed that time- one-thirty-four miles an hour- before he heard the inevitable, "_Out of range!"_

He'd learned to expect it by now, so he came to a stop. "_Now_, what?!" he demanded, utterly and thoroughly fed up.

"I didn't wanna hit a crab!" Cruz answered.

"You gotta be _kidding_ me!" he groaned.

"What?" Cruz asked innocently. "It was cute!"

Another groan.

"What happened this time?" Fudge wanted to know, upon their return.

"_Someone_ didn't want to hit a crab!" Lightning replied as if it was the most ridiculous, unbelievable thing he'd ever heard.

"It was _cute_!" Cruz insisted.

"It's okay, Cruz", Fudge sympathised, "I wouldn't wanna hit a crab either." Fudge had a serious soft spot for animals. She lit up. "Hey! I've got an idea! Why don't I come with you and keep a lookout for crabs?" She tried to get into a good position on the car.

"Fudge, no", Lightning vetoed the idea flatly.

"Why not?" The sixteen-year-old pouted and refused to budge off Cruz.

"Because I said so."

"But _why_?"

"You _know_ why!" The 95 racer raised his voice at her and it was shaking slightly; he sounded like he was ready to cry. However, he cleared his throat and continued in a much stronger tone. "Now, come on! We've wasted enough time today already! I _really_ don't wanna waste any more arguing with you!"

Fudge wasn't happy about it, but she slid off nonetheless. Cruz looked from the race car to the human girl and back again, confused. Lightning had always seemed like the caring older brother towards Fudge. Yet, those words sounded so familiar to Cruz. What was all _that_ about? She had no idea and she wasn't about to ask.

* * *

"All right", Lightning gave one last run-down, clearly at the end of his rope, "one last chance to try this before it gets dark. Now, you're gonna take off slow to let your tyres grab."

"Yes!" Cruz comprehended.

"And pick a straight line on hard sand, so you don't spin out."

"Uh-huh."

"And _all_ the crabbies have gone night-night."

"Mr. McQueen." Cruz gave him a Look while Fudge giggled.

"All right. Let's go again."

"And go." This time, Luigi looked and sounded like he was about to fall asleep.

So, they were away _again_. The two Italians and their daughter didn't pay much attention, convinced that pretty soon, Cruz was going to stop for some reason or another. Yet she never did. She didn't _quite_ catch up to Lightning, but she wasn't _that _far behind. After trying all day, the two dashed under the pier. With how long it took to get there, Lightning had almost forgotten where the finish line _was_.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo!" he hollered as he came to a stop. He looked to Cruz. "All right! Finally! You made it! Congratulations! How'd I do?" He was eager for the moment of truth.

"You topped out at one-ninety-eight", she reported ruefully.

"One-ninety-eight?" he repeated, unable to hide his disappointment. "That's it?"

"Still slower than Storm."

* * *

Fudge had wanted to run up to the pier to ask about Lightning's speed. However, with her knees and lung, she decided against it, thinking that the best course of action would be to wait for them to come back.

"How'd you go?" she demanded the second they were within hearing distance of each other.

With a heavy heart, Lightning told her.

The human girl's shoulders slumped. "Oh."

Needless to say, Lightning wasn't in a good mood.

* * *

"Wasted my whole day!" he grumbled as they left the beach for the second time (they left, but went back because Fudge had left her flip-flops, which had done nothing to improve the stock car's mood) to meet up with Mack. He was talking to himself more than anybody else.

"I wouldn't say that", Cruz argued, towing the treadmill.

Fudge nodded in agreement. "Maybe you're not as fast as Storm yet, but you're getting better and that's all that matters right now. It's still progress."

"Besides", Cruz added, "it... it did feel great to be out here, doing real racing-"

"This ain't real racing!" McQueen countered.

"It _was_ a couple of hours ago", Fudge reminded him, puzzled. Lightning's thoughts and feelings were so inconsistent lately. Since they'd stopped, she sat down on Luigi's hood to brush the sand off her feet.

"Fudge, you _know_ it's not!" Lightning snapped. "We're on a _beach_! All you do is go straight! How am I gonna get faster if I don't-" He stopped short, glancing up at a sign in front of him.

"What?" Fudge wondered.

Lightning didn't answer.

"_What_?" Fudge asked again, beginning to get annoyed.

"Thunder Hollow", Lightning read the sign softly. "Thunder Hollow!" he repeated, much louder and more enthusiastic.

"Yes!" Fudge shouted excitedly, catching on.

"There's a dirt track there!" Lightning stomped his tyre. "_That's_ what I need! To race against _actual_ racers!"

"Yes!" Fudge cried again, not noticing the hurt look on Cruz's face at her trainee's words.

"No! Too public!" Luigi was very quick to dismiss this suggestion. "As the head of security, I must forbid it! If the press find you, they will be like many, many bugs on you!"

"Paparazzi!" Guido added, spitting on the ground to get his point across.

"Guys, I really need this!" McQueen insisted, backing up into his trailer.

"Absolutely", Fudge agreed. "We have to go. But it's true we can't have the press around."

"Eh, just leave it to me, boss", Mack jumped in. "I am a master of disguise", he added mysteriously.

"Should we be worried?" Fudge questioned jokingly.

"Good idea, Mack!" Lightning proclaimed appreciatively. "Fudge, you'll probably need a disguise too", he mused. "You'll be recognised too."

"I really, _really_ doubt that", Fudge countered, thinking of her declining fame.

"Great idea, Mr. McQueen!" Cruz cut in. "And I know just where to get one! Come on, Fudge!"

Before the sixteen-year-old could protest, Cruz whisked her away.


	19. Friendships Grow

**This chapter is pretty short and quite insignificant. I guess you could say it's just a filler chapter.**

**I do have some good news, though. I finished writing _Cars Origins: What the Fudge?_ today. So, I'll be posting more of that soon.**

**In the meantime, however, I do hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 19- Friendships Grow**

"It's just us girls!" Cruz declared happily.

"Yeah..." Fudge supplied a response. She didn't really know what to say, but she felt like Cruz wanted her to say _something_.

It had taken them a lot longer than they would've wanted to get going because Guido and Luigi were uncertain about letting Fudge go off with Cruz. Even though Fudge was sixteen, a lot of the time, she acted like she was younger. Could they really trust her to go off into a town with which they weren't familiar without either of them or Lightning with her?

"But _I_ know where the town is!" Cruz had protested. "And I know how to get to Thunder Hollow! I can take her there when we're done! Come on! She's _sixteen_! In a year and a half, she's gonna be an adult!" (It didn't surprise Fudge that Cruz knew how old she was or when her birthday was; it was probably on the Internet.) "She'll be fine."

Reluctantly, the two Italians let their daughter go off with Cruz.

"I'm so glad Luigi and Guido let you come!" Cruz added. She laughed. "They were talking to you like they were your parents or something."

Fudge looked a little embarrassed. "That's because they _are_ my parents."

It was Cruz's turn to look embarrassed. "Oh! That's right! You're adopted." She remembered reading that somewhere.

"Yeah I am."

"What happened?" Cruz wanted to know.

"My mom showed up in Radiator Springs in labour, she gave birth to me and just left." The human girl made it sound like a very simple process, which it kind of was. A very simple process to hurt her own daughter so badly. It hurt for Fudge to think about being abandoned by her mother and every time she felt unwanted, those awful memories of finding out that her own mother didn't even _want_ her came rushing back to her. The worst part was that Fudge's mother would never know the pain she'd caused her own daughter.

"Oh, my gosh!" Cruz's voice was very quiet. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay. Really", Fudge insisted, fighting back her tears. She never liked to think, let alone _talk_, about her mother. She couldn't believe that she was getting into this then and there and with _Cruz_, but once again, she seemed so nice and non-judgemental, it didn't seem to really matter. "Luigi and Guido are the best. My whole family is." That was the great thing about Radiator Springs; Fudge's family extended beyond the tyre shop where she lived.

"Your family?"

"Yeah. Luigi and Guido are my parents; Lightning and his best friend, Mater, are like my older brothers and the others are like my aunts and uncles."

"So, do you know much about your real family?"

Fudge hated when people used the term _real_ family. Sure, she wasn't biologically related to anybody in Radiator Springs, but they were still her _real_ family. After all, _real_ family don't do what Fudge's parents did to her. Still, she knew what Cruz meant, so she just answered the question.

"A little. I've got a half-sister, who lives in Georgia and a half-brother, who moved to Alaska about a year ago."

"Do you like them?"

"Yeah. They're really nice..."

"So, what's the problem?" Cruz wondered. She got the feeling that there was _some_ problem.

"RJ, my half-brother, he's nice and all, but he doesn't really _feel_ like my brother. I guess that's 'cause he was seventeen and I was twelve when we met."

"I guess so", Cruz agreed.

"So... you don't know anything about your parents?"

"Well, since my half-siblings and I have the same dad, they've told me a bit about him... I found out I look like him... But I don't think he's ever gonna be a part of my life. Apparently, he travels a lot for work and they don't hear from him much."

"What about your mom?" As Fudge hesitated, Cruz added, "Sorry. I don't mean to pry." Truthfully, Cruz was especially curious because she hadn't been raised by her parents either.

"No, no, it's okay!" Fudge assured her hurriedly. "I just don't really like to talk about this, but my family always tells me I should." This was the most open Fudge had been about this kind of thing with anybody but her family in Radiator Springs and her half-sister, Sammy and she still didn't talk about it to _them_ that often. Luigi and Guido had sat her down the day after her twelfth birthday to have a long talk about her family (telling her everything they could about her parents and how they'd come to adopt her and reminding her that no matter what, she'd always have a family who loved her very much in Radiator Springs) and she'd bawled like a baby. "I never knew much about my mom, but I recently found out where she is."

"Where?"

"In jail. She killed a bunch of people. Have you ever heard of Dawn Hathaway?"

Cruz nodded.

"Yeah, she's my mom..." Fudge blinked back more tears, still horrified at the thought of everything her mother had done. Cruz just looked shocked and sympathetic. "For years, my family have told me what they remember about her when she was in town and my sister's met her and she's told me stuff too. Still, I always had the feeling there was something nobody was telling me. Now, I know. And part of me wishes I didn't."

"Wow!" Cruz murmured softly. "That's unbelievable! I can't believe your mom..."

"It's okay. Really. I mean, sure, I wish my mom had never abandoned me and she wasn't a mass murderer, but I'm happy with the way my life has turned out."

"Yeah! You've got a great family, a cool job and you're very close to Mr. McQueen."

"Yeah... He _is_ great." Fudge agreed, knowing that although a _lot_ of people knew who Lightning McQueen was, _she_ knew him in a way that a lot of people didn't.

"He is."

Still, there was something tugging at her brain. Cruz was talking about how great Lightning was. She thought Cruz was her friend. Was she just as bad as everyone else? Maybe it was something to think about. (Thanks to her mother and incidents like the one with Zara and Layla, Fudge had trust issues.)

"Oh, no!" Fudge exclaimed abruptly.

"What?" Cruz asked worriedly, coming to a stop.

"I think I forgot my glasses case..." Fudge dug through her backpack. "Oh. Never mind. Here it is."

"If you don't mind me asking", Cruz began thoughtfully. "When did you start wearing glasses? I've watched you on TV a lot and you didn't used to wear them."

"I've worn glasses ever since I was twelve, after the accident..."

Cruz was quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no! I just forgot about your accident. When I first met you at the Birthday Bonanza, you were in a wheelchair, but now, you can walk and you look fine. It's just so easy to forget you've been through all of that."

"Not for me, it's not", the human girl muttered bitterly

"Well, considering what you've been through, I think you look great."

Fudge couldn't help but smile and felt her face go red. "Thanks."

* * *

"Here we are!" Cruz called out about five minutes later, pulling up to a thrift shop. "I'm sure you'll be able to find stuff here."

"Yeah! And pretty cheap too", the human girl agreed.

They went inside.

"So, what were we talking about before I thought I lost my glasses case?" the sixteen-year-old asked.

"We were talking about Mr. McQueen."

"Oh, yeah." Fudge dug through a mountain of clothes, trying to find something. "He really _is_ a great guy."

Cruz nodded. "I know. He's the reason I wanted to become a racer."

"I just hope his deal with Mr. Sterling works", Fudge mused.

"I know", Cruz repeated. "I still can't believe Mr. Sterling didn't want to race him." After a moment of hesitation, she added, "Mr. Sterling can be a jerk sometimes."

"Yeah... Can I ask you something? It may be none of my business, but I _have_ told you some personal things about me."

"Sure. What?"

"If you wanted to be a racer _and_ you think Mr. Sterling can be a jerk, how come you work at the Rust-Eze Racing Center?"

When she saw Cruz's reaction, Fudge regretted asking. The yellow car paused and turned away from her slightly.

"Well..." she began before trailing off uncertainly.

"I'm sorry", Fudge apologised. "Forget I said anything."

"Okay."

* * *

The two were silent for a moment as they kept searching for something for Fudge to wear. The only sound was Fudge humming and later singing the song, "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

"Hey. You know what we need to come up with?" Cruz questioned after a while.

Fudge didn't look up from what she was doing. "What?"

"Fake names." Even though Cruz was sure she wouldn't get recognised, she thought it would be fun to go in there with a pseudonym if Fudge and Lightning were.

"Oh, yeah!" Fudge recalled. "What could I be called?"

"Pat Mahiney?" Cruz suggested with a snicker.

"I'm being _serious_ here!" Fudge reminded her with a grin. She thought for a moment. "What about Holden Magroin?"

Of course by then, they started to get a little silly.

"Max Power?" Cruz suggested.

"Holly Wood!"

"Ben Dover!"

"Which means you can be my sister, Eileen!"

"Eileen Dover? Oh! Oh! I get it! Very funny! Flame Boy!"

"Laser Child!"

In the same breath, both of them yelled, "**JOHN CENA!**"

Pretty soon, they were laughing too hard to speak.

In that moment, both Fudge and Cruz realised that they'd found their best friend, which was a great accomplishment for both of them. Neither had ever had a best friend before. Still, Fudge couldn't take her mind off how Cruz had acted earlier. It seemed like she was going to be a tough nut to crack, but the human girl sure hoped that she would open up soon enough.

**Yeah, so, I just wanted to show that Fudge and Cruz are becoming pretty good friends. So, they'****re opening up to each other _and_ goofing off and having fun.**

**Since, like I said, that was a short chapter, I'll probably get the next one up soon.**

**Please review!**


	20. Chester, Joy and Frances

**Foxy Hedgehog 777: I didn't get your PM for some reason; I sent you one, but I guess you didn't get that either. Please don't feel like the long reviews are bothering me because they're really not! I love it when people give me specific things they like, so I love your reviews! Thank you so much for all of them!**

**Okay! Now, onto da chapter!**

**Chapter 20- Chester, Joy and Frances**

Guido and Mack stood guard beside Lightning McQueen's trailer, parked at Thunder Hollow Speedway. Only now, the trailer boasted a banner advertising Jocko Flocko's Party Supplies. Behind the trailer, Luigi was tyre-deep in mud, spinning his rear wheels, so that Lightning would get caked in mud, thus concealing his identity. When Luigi was done, the stock car spat some mud out.

"You, sir, are officially incognito", Mack declared, satisfied. "No one's bothering you."

"The great Lightning McQueen", Luigi proclaimed sadly.

"I can feel it, guys!" Lightning announced. "Tonight is the night I find my speed!" As Guido used a cloth to wipe away mud in the shape of the number 15, Lightning looked around at his friends. "So, do you think this disguise'll work?"

As if on cue, he heard an excited, giggly voice (which almost sounded like a southern accent, but not quite) behind him. "Oh, my God! It's Lightning McQueen!"

Lightning, Luigi, Guido and Mack turned to find a teenage girl stood there. She had long blonde hair tied up into a ponytail. She was dressed in dark sunglasses; a faded, torn red cap; a blue plaid flannel shirt; a long white T-shirt underneath; ripped jeans and formerly-white sneakers. All of the clothes had mud on them.

"Uh..." Lightning wasn't sure what to say. "I think you have me mistaken for someone else. My name's Chester Whipplefilter."

"No. You're Lightning McQueen!" this teenager insisted. "I'd know you anywhere!"

Lightning could tell that she was serious. "All right. Fine. I'm Lightning McQueen."

"I am such a big fan!" Even though her voice was giggly, Lightning didn't pay much attention to it. He knew some people, like Fudge, giggled a lot when they were excited and nervous.

"Uh... Thanks. What's your name?"

"Joy. Joy 'Rider' Sweet."

"Pretty name."

"Thanks! Can I get a picture with you?"

"Uh... Sure."

So, Joy snapped some photos with Lightning McQueen joyfully. "You know, I can't believe you're here! It is such an honour to meet you!"

"Thanks... Hey. Does anyone else know it's me?"

"I'm not sure", Joy replied honestly.

"Well, could you please do me a favour and not say anything to anyone? I'm supposed to be... you know..."

Joy nodded. "I understand. I'm one of you."

Confusion took over Lightning's face. "Uh... What do you mean?"

Joy surprised everyone by pulling off her hat and hair and sliding off her sunglasses. As it turns out, Joy "Rider" Sweet didn't exist. It was Fudge all along!

"Fudge!" Lightning exclaimed, laughing. "You scared me! I thought my cover was blown!"

"Sorry!" she giggled in her normal voice. "It was just a good idea! What do you think? I look pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah, you look great!" the race car informed her.

"Can you believe it?!" She stuck out her arms and did a turn. "I got this whole outfit for under twenty bucks." Then she caught sight of Lightning and Luigi in the mud. "Hey. How come _you_ guys get to play in the mud and when I do it, it's all, 'Oh, _Fudge_!' and, 'We can't have Uncle and Mama Topolino seeing you like _that_!'"

Luigi, Guido and Lightning laughed. One time, Mater took Fudge to play in mud when Luigi's aunt and uncle were on their way and Luigi wasn't happy.

"Well, you are covered in mud too, Fudge", Luigi pointed out. "I will let you off this time."

"Yeah, we can make an exception for this. It's sacred dirt", Lightning added.

"Sacred dirt", Fudge repeated.

"So, Joy 'Rider' Sweet, huh?"

"Yep. Got a nice ring to it, don't you think?

"Yep."

"It was either that or Regina Phalange." (Lightning laughed.) **(AN: Anyone know that reference?)** "So, Chester Whipplefilter, huh?"

"Yep... What took you so long?"

"Cruz and I got lost", Fudge lied. No way was she telling him what had happened to make them late.

* * *

"Okay. Are you ready to go?" Cruz asked Fudge once she gathered up the clothes she wanted to wear that night.

"Yeah, I think so."

However, on the way out, they passed the toy section of the thrift shop.

"Hey! Hey, Cruz! Look!" Fudge picked up a foam sword and stuck it behind her head, closing her eyes and sticking her tongue out.

Cruz laughed and picked up a sword of her own, aiming it at Fudge.

Fudge aimed her sword at Cruz, yelling, "_En garde_!"

"Flame Boy versus Laser Child!" Cruz announced.

Right then and there, the two had a swordfight, shrieking with laughter, until Cruz asked Hamilton for the time.

"_Time is six-sixteen PM_", Hamilton reported.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed. "We better get going!"

* * *

Before they headed to Thunder Hollow, Fudge changed in a bathroom (and she remembered why she didn't like jeans anymore and hadn't worn them since she was eleven; they were just so tight and uncomfortable!). Cruz tied her friend's hair in a ponytail and was surprisingly good at it. Then Fudge bought some sushi to eat on the way there.

"Dinner", she'd explained to Cruz, who just smiled.

* * *

When they arrived at the speedway, Fudge's eyes widened. There were cars and the odd human everywhere and a lot of them looked very tough and rowdy. Some were kicking up mud. It was very overwhelming. The first thing she did was roll in a little bit of mud to get a little dirty and look like she belonged.

The largest group of humans consisted of five of them, all stood by the fence to the track, holding helmets and roller skates and smoking cigarettes. They all looked very strong and aggressive. There was a tall blonde woman in a red tank top and really short black skirt. Next to her were an Asian man with spiky hair and wearing a white jumpsuit with flames on it and an Asian woman in a pale blue jumpsuit. Those three looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties, but the dark-haired man next to them, who was dressed like a cowboy, appeared to be in his early forties. Fudge couldn't even _tell_ how old the last guy was. He looked like he weighed at least two hundred pounds, he had a shaved head and wore jeans and a black polo shirt. He kind of looked like a security guard.

When they saw Fudge, the blonde held out her pack of cigarettes to the sixteen-year-old. "Want one?" she offered.

Fudge shook her head and spoke with the best southern accent she could put on. "No, thanks. I don't smoke." She knew her accent wasn't a hundred per cent convincing, but these humans paid no attention to that.

"You _don't_?" the Asian woman cried, disbelievingly.

"What? Is the baby afraid of a little smoke?" the cowboy laughed.

"I guess so!" The Asian man smirked.

"I'm _not_ a baby", Fudge informed them calmly.

"That's exactly what a baby would say!" the cowboy proclaimed.

"What's your name, kid?" the blonde asked abruptly.

"Fu-" Fudge began before stopping to correct herself. "Joy 'Rider' Sweet."

For some reason, that made all of them crack up.

"Sweet!" the blonde hooted. "Sweetheart!"

That just made them laugh even harder and Fudge's face burn. It turned out they had cool stage names. The blonde was Roxy Rocket. The Asian man and woman were Fire and Ice respectively. The cowboy was Wild Wes. Finally, the guy who looked like a security guard was... Benny.

"I guess you'll see us put on a show you wouldn't have the guts to do!" Roxy Rocket proclaimed.

Once again, Fudge didn't understand why the others were laughing.

"Come on, Joy!" Cruz tugged on the human girl's arm.

"Yeah, let's go find our friends", Fudge murmured, thinking, _Saved!_ She could hear the other humans laughing as she walked away.

* * *

Lightning knew that Fudge was lying about being lost, but didn't push it. He had more important things on his mind.

"I didn't miss anything, did I?" Fudge questioned.

"Nope. But I think it's almost time for me to-"

"_Racers!_" a voice boomed over the PA. "_Get on over to the starting line! Pronto!_"

"Well, that's me!" Lightning announced.

* * *

Fudge accompanied Lightning onto the track.

"All right. No more straight lines", Lightning proclaimed. "Just a good old-fashioned oval."

Fudge smiled at him. "Good luck."

However, as the two of them looked around the track, a perfectly nice, normal dirt track, both of them got the feeling that something wasn't right, but neither of them could put a finger/tyre on what it was.

"Hey now!" an official, a dark green truck with the name Roscoe written on his side, greeted Lightning. "You that out-of-towner?"

"Uh, yes. That's me. Chester Whipplefilter."

"And I'm Frances Beltline!" a new voice piped up behind them. It was Cruz! She'd covered the Rust-Eze Racing Center logo on her sides in dirt.

For the second time that day, Lightning was surprised to see her and it occurred to Fudge that they never explicitly said that Cruz was invited. "Cruz! What are you doing?!"

"I'm your trainer", she explained. "Gonna track your speed from the infield. _Whipplefilter_."

"Fine", Lightning complied reluctantly. "Just stay out of the way."

Cruz nodded.

"What 'bout you?" Roscoe asked, eyeing Fudge.

"Oh! I'm not racing", she explained.

"Well, then, what're you doin' on the track? Didn't you read the sign?" He gestured to the sign by the entrance that read: RACERS ONLY PAST THIS POINT. VIOLATORS WILL BE TOTALLED.

"Oh, I didn't see the sign", Fudge admitted, fearing the amount of trouble she was going to get in. "Sorry. I-" She started to leave.

"Know what happens now?" Roscoe quizzed her.

"No. What?"

"You race!"

"What?" Fudge gasped.

"_What_?!" McQueen was equally horrified.

"_Humans _race here too?"

Roscoe nodded. "They do _here_, but it's banned in forty-nine states."

Fudge knew that cars and humans racing together wasn't exactly common, but she didn't know it was banned in forty-nine states. That wasn't true, was it?

"You can't do that!" Lightning protested. "She's just a kid!"

"Name?" Roscoe asked Fudge, ignoring "Chester".

"Joy Sweet."

"Mitch!" Roscoe called out after writing her name down and a blonde human man in a heavy denim jacket and torn faded red cap like Fudge's came over. "Suit her up!"

Mitch, the human, loaded Fudge up with a helmet, shoulder, knee and elbow pads and roller skates. "We gotta make sure we have the safety gear", he explained in a gruff voice. "Place not too far from Thunder Hollow got sued a couple years back."

As Fudge got suited up, she remembered that while she hadn't done an awful lot of roller skating in her life, she'd done enough of it to know two things. The first thing she knew was that there were two types of humans when it came to roller skating: those who could do it and the idiots who clung to the sides for their lives. The second thing she knew about roller skating was that she most definitely fell into the latter category. Sure enough, as soon as she tried to stand up on her skates, she nearly fell over.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as, luckily, Lightning caught her.

"Thanks!" she sighed in relief, giving him a grateful smile. "I can't skate!" she groaned. "Moving on wheels is _hard_! How do you cars _do_ it?"

"We just do", Lightning pointed out. "It'll be just as hard for a car to get around if you just randomly gave them a pair of legs."

"True", Fudge realised. "Whoa!" she cried as she almost slipped again.

"Are you gonna be able to do this?" Cruz wanted to know.

"Not well!" Fudge responded, struggling to keep herself upright.

That was when Lightning realised what was off about this place. There were only the three of them and the two officials on the track. "Excuse me! Sir?" he called out to Roscoe. "Where are the other racers?"

"Oh, they'll be along", Roscoe told them ominously. "We always let our guests start... _right_ _up front._"

**Once again, that was a short chapter, but I wanted the demolition derby to be its own individual chapter.**

**Just a little bit of trivia:**

**1\. I made Fudge's fake last name _Sweet_ because... well, fudge is sweet. It was actually my sister who gave me that idea.**

**2\. I've read quite a few _Cars_ fan fics with human OCs in them where the humans wear roller skates in order to keep up with the cars. While I kind of like that, I think Fudge would be far too uncoordinated to do that. There was a bit of that in this chapter and in the next one.**

**3\. In case you couldn't tell, I've made the Thunder Hollow Crazy Eight a combination of a demolition derby/roller derby. I wanted to get Fudge involved, even though I feel the way I did it was a bit of a stretch. (Although, that sign I mentioned is actually in the movie, so...)**

**Either way, though, please review!**


	21. A Crazy Night of Crazy Eight

**I know that the last few chapters have been pretty short, so I'm hoping this one can make up for that. :)**

**Chapter 21- A Crazy Night of Crazy Eight**

Before Fudge, Cruz or Lightning knew what was happening, the lights on the track shut off. The crowd went wild.

"_Welcome, y'all, to Thunder Hollow Speedway!_" an announcer's voice boomed over the PA. "_For tonight's edition of..._"

A bunch of bright lights came on and swept over the track in the shape of the number eight.

"**_CURRRRAAAAZYYY EIGHT!_**" the announcer finished.

Several explosions went off around the trio as flames came shooting out of some tyres. Fudge whimpered and put her hands to her ears, shutting her eyes. She hated both fire and loud noises. Not holding onto anything sent her tumbling into the dirt. Finally, one massive explosion from all of the tyres at once made Fudge give a frightened yell.

"I don't like this!" she declared, whimpering.

"Did he say 'Crazy Eight?'" Lightning quizzed the two females next to him as he helped Fudge up onto her feet.

"That's what it _sounded_ like!" a fearful Fudge responded, trying keep her hands on Lightning's muddy roof. She didn't know what Crazy Eight was, but given how scared she was already, she wasn't at all interested in sticking around to find out.

"Whoa!" Lightning exclaimed abruptly as a flaming tyre came bouncing along dangerously close to them.

"I don't like this!" Fudge repeated and both Cruz and Lightning felt sorry for her. She was genuinely scared.

"_Race fans!_" the announcer continued. "_It's time to meet tonight's challengers!_"

There was another explosion directly behind our three heroes, making all three of them yelp and hurry out of the way. A whole bunch of cars and trucks came pouring in from behind, all of them very battered and bruised. An ambulance with the word RAMBULANCE written on him rushed out, imitating a siren.

"Have a nice trip!" an RV with a nose ring called out.

Fudge, Lightning and Cruz were surrounded by racers, who were driving around recklessly and in all directions. Some were even driving backwards or spinning around and around dangerously.

"Protect and swerve!" a severely dented police car laughed as she spun around.

They just kept coming, all flooding in one after the other and all performing some dangerous stunt. _Then_ the humans showed up! The five humans that had taunted Fudge earlier practically flew in on their roller skates.

"_This_ is _my_ high noon!" Wild Wes declared.

A water truck on the track whistled casually as he sprayed water into the dirt, turning it into mud. Looking around at it all, it absolutely was _not_ something Lightning, Fudge _or_ Cruz wanted to be a part of.

"Guys!" Lightning called out. "This isn't what I thought it was! Come on! Follow me and we'll slip out!"

"Gladly!" Fudge agreed, holding onto Lightning, letting him lead her out. Cruz followed.

Unfortunately, before they could escape, Roscoe and Mitch shut the gates!

"_No_!" Fudge wailed in horror.

"Rule number one", Roscoe began. "Gate closes, you race."

Well, that kinda sucked. Cruz gasped as a forklift spray-painted the number 20 on her sides. At the same time, another plastered the number 19 to Fudge's back and chest, making her flinch. That was when she realised that the other humans were wearing them as well. Roxy Rocket was number 22, Fire and Ice were 100 and 101 respectively, Wild Wes was 48 and Benny was 6 (she later heard the others joke about how he got the number six because he could only count that high).

"Wait!" Cruz cried. "No, no, no! I'm not a racer!"

"Me neither!" Fudge added.

"Rule number two", Roscoe went on, ignoring them. "Last one standing wins." That kinda sucked too; no way could a human beat a car in this kind of thing. "And rule number three. No cursing! It's family night."

With that, he began to drive off.

"Good luck, guys!" Mitch called over his shoulder before following Roscoe.

Well, that last rule kinda sucked too. Fudge had only ever cursed a couple of times in her life, but, given the situation, now seemed like a perfect time to start.

"Excuse me! Guys?!" Lightning called after them.

"Wait! No!" Cruz shouted. "I'm just a _trainer_!"

"I'm gonna _die_ here!" Fudge added.

However, their pleas were ignored. Mitch and Roscoe were gone. All of a sudden, a honking horn blared out from behind them and again, all three of them were startled. There was a car racing mere inches from them.

"_And make way for the undefeated Crazy Eight champion!_" the announcer started.

Fudge groaned. Oh, God! These guys looked tough and dangerous enough as it was. What would the _undefeated champion_ be like?

"_The Diva of Demolition! **MISS FRITTER!**_"

There was another explosion, this one right behind the trio. Lightning screamed as they all jumped and turned around. A menacing-looking school bus was directly behind them. She had horns going up to her roof, a chain on her hood and a collection of licence plates hanging off one of her sides as what they could only assume were trophies collected from previous victims. The sixteen-year-old whimpered and clung to Lightning, looking down at the mud staining her shirt and jeans.

"Now, I'm muddy on the front _and_ the back!" she whispered to herself.

"_Boo_!" Miss Fritter's voice was low and raspy. She laughed. Well, actually, _cackled_ is a better way of describing it. "Lookie here, boys!" she called out to the other competitors. "We got us a couple of rookies!"

Wild Wes laughed, catching sight of Fudge. "What are you doin' here, Sweetheart? We _told_ you you didn't have the guts to do this."

Fudge wasn't even going to argue with him. She just wanted to get out of there.

Miss Fritter looked to Fudge too. "So, this is Sweetheart, huh?" She shifted her attention to Lightning. "I'm gonna call _you_ Muddy Britches." Finally, she looked at Cruz. "And _you_ Lemonade!"

"Hey! Neither one of them has a single dent", the RV, who the group later learned was named Arvy, observed.

"Oh, I'm gonna fix _that_!" Miss Fritter vowed.

Nobody doubted that.

Roxy Rocket scanned Fudge up and down critically. "Sweetheart's missing a couple of teeth, though. I'm sure she'll lose a couple more tonight."

"Yeah, let's make you lose all those baby teeth!" Fire taunted.

"Let's see how gutsy you really are!" Ice chimed in.

_Not very!_ Fudge thought, cowering.

* * *

"_All right, everybody!_" the announcer called it. He chanted along with the crowd, "_Let's... go... **RACIN'**_**!**"

An air siren blared and a terrible night began.

* * *

Immediately, Miss Fritter chased Fudge, Lightning and Cruz while the other cars and humans smashed and crashed into each other.

"I'm about to commit a moving violation!" Miss Fritter shouted as she tried to hunt her prey.

"Whoa!" Lightning cried, darting out of the way at the last second.

Fudge, on the other tyre, hadn't been able to get out of the way. Miss Fritter clipped her slightly, propelling her forward out of control before she smashed into the fence, prompting ecstatic cheers from the crowd. Fudge was glad that they were happy. Not only did it hurt, but she'd lost the prescription sunglasses she was wearing! Her vision was blurry and she couldn't see a thing. Before she could get her bearings, she felt herself being grabbed from both sides. Fire and Ice had just slid their arms under her shoulders and dragged her along as they skated at rapid speed. Fudge screamed the whole way around.

Meanwhile, Lightning was racing around the track, desperately trying to avoid crashing into any of those Crazy Eight cars as well as being hit by any flying objects. That was when he noticed something- or rather, some_one_\- frozen in the middle of the track, hiding behind a stack of tyres.

"Cruz!" he exclaimed, racing off in her direction.

On his way, he ran into Fudge, who had just been let go by Fire and Ice after they realised that Miss Fritter was on their tail. She was flying, unable to stop and struggling to keep her balance on the skates. Luckily, Lightning showed up to catch her in the nick of time.

"Thanks!"

"Fudge! Fudge, hold onto me!" McQueen instructed and she didn't hesitate to obey.

"I can't see a damn thing!" the human complained.

"Cruz!" Lightning yelled. Then he raced off to save Cruz, Fudge struggling to hold on.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded when he reached her. "Gotta keep moving!"

"I shouldn't be out here!" Cruz protested.

At that moment, a car bounced off the ground and came flying towards the trio. Cruz screamed.

"Move, Cruz, move!" Lightning shouted, pushing her out of the way.

"I don't like this!" Fudge announced for the third time that night. She was on the verge of tears as Lightning led her onto the solid dirt.

There was one major problem on the solid dirt.

"What do I do?!" Cruz called out to Lightning, unable to move in a straight line. "I can't steer!"

"Turn right to go left, turn right to go left!" Lightning coached her, drifting around a corner in the dirt with Fudge hanging on for dear life.

"**THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!**" Cruz shouted.

"Turn right to go left!" Lightning repeated.

"Cruz! Look at what Lightning's doing!" Fudge added, thinking that that would be a little more useful advice to Cruz, but she couldn't hear over all the chaos.

"Whoa!" Lightning skidded to a halt to avoid a collision and Fudge fell to the ground.

"Lightning!" she called out, wanting him to help her.

But Lightning didn't have time to stop. Miss Fritter was right behind him, ploughing forward three other cars and Wild Wes. Luckily, Fudge managed to crawl away at the last second, only to have Roxy Rocket, who had been hit by a car, smash into her. Now, Fudge could see why having humans on the same track was banned in forty-nine states.

"Fudge!" Lightning hollered when he came back around and she climbed up onto his trunk. "Why did you let go?!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" she argued defensively.

"Well, stay with me this time!"

"I'll try!" she promised.

Lightning screamed yet again as several competitors blocked his path. Yet, he couldn't stop.

Luckily, they got out of his way in time, but pretty soon, Arvy and a taxi called Fare Game were chasing them. All of a sudden, Fudge climbed off Lightning's trunk.

"Fudge!" he screamed. "**FUDGE!** Fudge, what are you doing?!"

Fudge didn't answer. She was too focused on trying to stand up and manoeuvre on her skates properly. She'd been hoping to find something sturdy to hold onto, but there was nothing, so she was just going to have to be careful. She'd already broken both her hip and her neck once; she didn't want to do it again that night.

"Nice day for a drive, huh?!" Arvy called out as he and Fare Game sandwiched the two incognito celebrities.

"Hey, buddy!" Fare Game yelled. "Get the-" He honked his horn. "-out of my way!"

The two collided and clipped Fudge on the way (not hard, thankfully), sending Arvy crashing into the barbed wire fence. The crowd cheered.

Arvy's crash had brought the fence down a little bit and that was exactly what Fudge wanted. Making sure that no wild racers were in her way, she removed her skates and put her hands on the fence in front of her. It would've been much easier with her glasses, but she could still see it. There was a gap in it, created by part of it being knocked down. The human girl was trying to squeeze her way out through the gap. While the crowd were loving that, nobody was much help. They just laughed and cheered.

"Hey! Guess Sweetheart's given up!" a voice called out, laughing.

"So soon?" another voice asked with mock disappointment.

"_I have_ never _seen_ this _before_!" the announcer's voice came over the PA. One of the bright stadium lights shone down on Fudge. "_It looks like we got ourselves a runaway!_"

That made everyone laugh even more and, while Fudge felt like her humiliation was complete, she consoled herself with the silver lining that nobody knew it was her.

Cruz, who was still struggling in the dirt watched Fudge, amazed. She was actually going to _escape_ this hell! The yellow car was kind of jealous, to be honest.

Sadly, before Fudge could escape, Benny came over, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

Lightning had watched the whole thing as he was still being chased by Dr. Damage and Fare Game. "Goddammit, Fudge!" he whispered to himself.

"Hey!" Fudge shrieked. "Put me down!"

Benny didn't put her down. He carried her back onto the track, but when Dr. Damage appeared on his tail, he was forced to drop Fudge and skate off to safety.

Thank Chrysler a pile of tyres and some mud broke Fudge's fall.

"Fudge!" Lightning hollered, rushing to her side and pulling her up to her feet once again. "What the hell were you _thinking_?!"

"I wanna get out of here!" she cried as she got back onto his trunk. She'd already had numerous near death experiences in her life- being chased by evil Lemons several times during the World Grand Prix; being beaten by them; jumping out of a helicopter without a parachute into the River Thames; nearly being blown up by the bomb attached to Mater; having guns aimed at her; being stranded in Tail Light Caverns for two days with no food or drink and, of course, the accident. Now, _this_. Fudge could tell you firsthand that having multiple near death experiences didn't make it any easier.

They didn't have time to discuss it anymore. Arvy and Fare Game were still after them. They'd both spun out in their collision and had kept going. Arvy was behind them and Fare Game was driving in front of them, blocking their path.

"Hey! I'm _driving_ here!" Fare Game yelled at them.

However, at that moment, Dr. Damage came from nowhere and slammed into the taxi. So, he was gone. That just left Arvy.

And the fifty million other competitors coming at them at rocket speed and from all directions. Just like the one right in front of them who happened to flip over and roll towards them at that moment. Fortunately, Lightning managed to get out of the way. The car landed on Arvy's roof and he didn't seem to mind.

"Look at my new hat!" he called out excitedly.

Lightning raced into the mud and the car behind them had somehow become airborne. Fudge had to duck to prevent herself from being hit in the head.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I'm flying!" Although as he neared the ground, he was quickly drawn back to reality. "No! I'm not flying!"

He hit the ground hard and bounced, crashing into the fence as well and hurtling a rocket into the crowd.

A couple of seconds later, a forklift held up the rocket triumphantly. "I got it!" he shouted, prompting even more cheers from the spectators.

* * *

At that moment, Fudge and Lightning remembered someone they hadn't seen in a while.

"Cruz!" they gasped simultaneously.

They found her practically flying through the mud, completely out of control, screaming all the way.

"We've gotta help her!" Lightning declared determinedly.

"Yeah, but _how_?!" Fudge wondered. "We can't even save ourselves right now!"

"Well, we gotta do something!"

Meanwhile, Cruz had found herself back on the solid dirt, still unable to steer.

"Turn right to go left, turn right to go left", she repeated Lightning's words.

She attempted the move, but started spinning out of control.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa_!" she screamed as she ended up straight in the mud, powerless to get out.

To make matters worse, Miss Fritter had just flipped over a car and glared menacingly at her next victim of choice: Cruz.

"Oh, no!" Cruz murmured softly, trying to move, but she couldn't.

"_Buckle up, everybody!_" the announcer called out. "_It's... FRITTER TIME!_"

Several more explosions went off, posters of Miss Fritter appeared around the speedway. The crowd began chanting, "Fritter, Fritter, Fritter!"

Miss Fritter herself joined in, driving around in circles with flames coming from her horns. "Fritter, Fritter, Fritter!"

"I don't even wanna _know_ about Fritter Time!" Fudge groaned.

"Oh, yeah!" Miss Fritter called out to Cruz. "Your licence plate's gonna look real nice in my collection!" She rattled the licence plates on her sides.

"Oh, boy!" Cruz murmured.

"_Run_!" an upside-down car next to her instructed.

Lightning came to a stop and he and Fudge had a clear view of what was happening. "Oh, _no_!" he groaned.

"What do we do?" Fudge wondered.

"Remember!" Miss Fritter went on. "Obey all appropriate street signs!"

"Cruz!" McQueen shot off to try to save her.

Good thing, too. Miss Fritter had just produced a razor-sharp stop sign, which she started spinning, sending off a shower of sparks. For a brief moment, Fudge wondered if that was even legal. _Who cares?!_ she told herself. _Legal or not, we gotta help Cruz!_

Miss Fritter was heading for Cruz. Everyone was eager to see her destroy this Frances Beltline car, whoever she was. Nobody was prepared for what happened next, though. Chester Whipplefilter and Joy "Rider" Sweet pushed her out of the way. However, in doing so, they sent up a stream of mud. It caused Miss Fritter to lose control, shooting right past them, going backwards and tilting sideways slightly. Finally, she toppled over onto her side!

"_Oh, my gracious!_" The announcer was clearly astonished. "_Miss Fritter's down!_"

A series of gasps came from the cars and humans in the stands. Meanwhile, Lightning was trying to move, but he couldn't. As he spun his wheels, there was an odd sound.

Fudge glanced down to see what the problem was. "Lightning! Look at this!"

He looked. The stop sign was caught in one of his rear wheels. The tyre had burst. Great.

"Nobody touches them!" Miss Fritter called out, making Fudge and Lightning jump. "They... are... _mine_!" She was trying to get back up on her tyres. Double great.

Everyone was silent for a long time.

"Oh, boy!" Fudge mumbled.

"You gon' get it _now_, Whipplefilter!" an RV in the crowd shouted.

"Yeah, you and Sweetheart better start diggin' your own graves!" an African-American human man beside the RV added.

They probably should've, as far as Fudge was concerned, but if there was one thing people should know about Lightning McQueen, it was that he didn't go down without a fight. He revved his engine and dug through the mud, doing anything it took to push himself forward.

"Anything I can do to help?" Fudge offered.

"Yeah. You can stay up there and keep quiet!"

Fudge wasn't sure if he was just stressed or actually mad at her. It was hard to tell from his tone. She just decided to do as he said. Now, a little part of her wished they weren't in disguise. Why? Because after this, she was certain that they wouldn't be allowed to show their faces at Thunder Hollow Speedway ever again.

"Come on, McQueen!" the stock car whispered to himself as he persisted through the mud. "You can do it! Come on, Lightning! Keep going!"

The clock was ticking. Miss Fritter wasn't going down without a fight either.

"_Miss Fritter's looking to get upright, folks!_" the announcer observed. "_And she is _not _pleased!_"

Fudge was beginning to get afraid. Lightning was trying to get out of the mud. Miss Fritter was trying to get back on her tyres. She had no idea which one was gonna happen first.

"Are you sure you don't need me to do anything?!" Fudge quizzed McQueen frantically. If she could do something, it might reduce their chances of becoming roadkill.

"_Yes_, I'm _fine_! I can _do_ this, Fudge!"

"Isn't that what you said about the simulator?" the sixteen-year-old reminded him.

"Can we not _talk_ about this right now, Fudge?!"

Her heart sank when Miss Fritter stood before her on all four tyres. Lightning was still in the mud.

The School Bus of Death glared at the two, ready to kill them both. "You", she vowed, "about to feel the wrath of the Lower Belleville County Unified School District!"

With flames pouring out of her horns again, Miss Fritter charged!

"Tell Luigi and Guido I love them!" Fudge shouted.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic!" Lightning scoffed, still struggling in the mud.

Just then, the stop sign was released from his wheel and was sent flying. Lightning spun and Fudge was sent flying as well along with some tyres. When Miss Fritter hit the scattered tyres, _she_ became airborne as well! She crashed right into one of the billboards around the track!

"No, no, no, no, no!" she screamed as the billboard toppled over.

The water truck, Mr. Drippy, screamed and rushed to her aid.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!_" the announcer declared. "_Frances_ _Beltline!_"

"Frances Beltline?" Fudge repeated. It took a second for her to realise. That was _Cruz_!

Cruz, who was still racing around the track, needed a second too. "Is that me? That's _me_! I won! I _won_!" She was heading straight for Fudge, Lightning and Mr. Drippy.

"Cruz, Cruz, no!" Lightning shouted. "No, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Watch out!" Cruz shrieked as she swerved to avoid Mr. Drippy.

The water truck lost his balance and fell over onto his side. As if things weren't bad enough, all of the water in his tank burst out, drenching Lightning and Fudge.

"At least now, I won't have to take a shower!" Fudge grumbled as the water stopped and she staggered to her feet while Lightning shook himself off. Both of them were sputtering.

However, the crowd had noticed something that she didn't: the water had washed away all of the mud on Lightning and caused her wig to slide off her head. Everyone gasped.

"Whipplefilter?" the RV from earlier gasped.

Lightning froze. He realised that everyone was staring at him and his disguise was gone. Triple great.

"**IT'S LIGHTNIN' MCQUEEN!**" the RV yelled.

"And Fudge Rossi-Topolino!" the African-American man beside him added.

All of a sudden, everyone was shouting. Two forklifts pushed a sign behind the two celebrities, which said GOT MY TYRES DIRTY AT THUNDER HOLLOW. Lights went off in their faces and Miss Fritter somehow managed to get herself upright again in record time.

"_LIGHTNING MCQUEEN_!" she squealed, rushing forward to be at the race car's side. "_AND_ _FUDGE ROSSI-TOPOLINO!_ I can't believe this! I am such a big fan of both of you! I can't believe you're really here! It's so great to meet you!"

"Yeah, it's a real pleasure", Fudge stammered out uncertainly. This school bus had been hell-bent on killing them not even a minute ago and _now_, she was fangirling over them. Strange.

Roxy Rocket marched over to Roscoe and Mitch and gave them both the hardest slap she could give.

"How could you even _think_ of letting a kid in here?!" she demanded.

"She's sixteen years old!" Fire pointed out.

"And she _looks_ younger!" Ice added, eyeing the teen. "Though, she's pretty gutsy for a kid."

"You didn't even think to ask how old she is?" Miss Fritter looked Fudge up and down with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she assured the other competitors, who crowded around her as she tried to limp off, only to sag to the floor.

"Come on!" Miss Fritter insisted. "You had that accident a couple years ago!"

Without a word, Benny lifted Fudge over his shoulder again and carried her over to a medical tent nearby. Lightning followed, but stopped when he noticed Cruz going in the opposite direction.

"Cruz! Where are you going?"

"I _won_!" she replied. "I gotta get my trophy!"

Lightning groaned and rolled his eyes. He had three things on his mind at that point: how the night had done nothing to improve his speed, making sure Fudge was okay and getting as far away from Thunder Hollow as possible.


	22. Not a Racer

**I couldn't wait to get this chapter out! And, based on the reviews I've been getting, I think most of you will be surprised with how this chapter's gonna go...**

**Chapter 22- Not a Racer**

Thankfully, Lightning's wish was Mack's command. Once Fudge had had her cuts and bruises washed and bandaged and she'd been given some painkillers and an icepack, then they'd found Cruz (plus her trophy), they were out of there! Mack sped off as fast as he legally could in order to escape the cars and humans that swarmed the trailer, screaming and shouting.

Also, thankfully, there wasn't much wrong with Fudge. She just had a couple of scrapes and bruises.

"Nothing serious", was what the medic had declared, "but you'll be feeling that tomorrow."

"I'll bet", the human girl agreed.

"You're lucky you didn't do any serious damage", the medic went on. "I've heard about the accident you had a couple years ago."

"Speaking of the accident", Miss Fritter piped up in fangirl mode, "did you get the stuff I sent you?! Of course you did! I got a thank-you letter back!"

"You sent me stuff?" Fudge asked. So many people had sent her stuff while she'd been in hospital that she couldn't remember all of them. In fact, until that moment, she'd forgotten that she'd received a bear in a 95 T-shirt and a card from someone named Cruz Ramirez too! "Thanks!"

"So, how'd you guys like your first time doing Crazy Eight?" Roxy Rocket quizzed Fudge and Lightning teasingly.

"Loved it!" Fudge responded just as jokingly, giving everyone the _okay_ symbol.

Everyone laughed.

"When's the next one?" Fudge continued. "Sign me up!"

"Well", Lightning piped up, sounding kind of annoyed as he scooped Fudge up onto his hood, "we better get going. Where did Cruz go?"

"Cruz?" nearly everyone echoed in confusion.

"Frances Beltline", Fudge clarified.

Fortunately, at that moment, Cruz came racing up to the group. She was over the moon! "Fudge! Mr. McQueen!" she cried, showing off her trophy. "Look!"

"Congratulations, Cruz!" Fudge replied sincerely. "I was just worried about staying _alive_ the whole time! It's impressive that you actually _won_!"

"Thanks!" Cruz looked to Lightning, expecting him to say something, but he didn't.

"Congratulations, Frances, uh, Cruz!" most of the racers called. "You even beat _Miss Fritter_! That's impressive!"

Miss Fritter shrugged. "I don't care", she proclaimed with a goofy grin. "This has been the best night of Crazy Eight ever!"

Everyone else agreed.

"Well", Lightning jumped in again, "as much as we would love to stick around" (_Not_!) "we better get going."

* * *

It wasn't easy to get out of there. By then, the press had shown up too and they and the fans were following the three as they made it back to the trailer, snapping pictures and calling out their names along with questions.

"What are you doing at Thunder Hollow?"

"Why aren't you training at the Rust-Eze Racing Center?"

"Is getting your tyres dirty part of your new training regime?"

"Are you planning to retire?"

As the press stalked them, Cruz clutched her trophy like a mother protecting her newborn baby. This was her first- and probably _only_, she realised- trophy and she didn't want anything to happen to it.

Luckily, Guido and Luigi were nearby to help out.

"Back up!" Luigi barked as he and his best friend shoved the press and the fans back. "Team McQueen will not be answering any questions, thank you! **HEY!**" he screamed as a man, an orange Mini Cooper with a camera, grabbed Fudge's arm. The Fiat put himself between them and gave Fudge a gentle but firm push forward. "Get your tyres off my daughter! She is just a child! Out the way! All of you! Out the way!"

When they finally made it to the safety of the trailer, all five occupants and Mack were worried that the mob out there were going to burst through.

"Step on it, Mack!" Lightning shouted.

The big truck didn't hesitate to obey. He started up his engine and blazed out of there.

Luigi sighed with relief as he and Guido helped Fudge over to the bed. "They were _crazy_! _This _was what I was afraid would happen if we came here!"

"Paparazzi!" Guido added, spitting in disgust.

However, Lightning really wasn't in the mood for the _I told you so _stuff.

* * *

A couple of minutes later, Fudge was lying on her bed, having been changed into her pyjamas. Guido pressed the icepack up against her forehead and Luigi used a damp washcloth to wipe any dirt and mud off of her.

"Are you okay, Fudgie?" Luigi questioned worriedly.

The sixteen-year-old groaned. "My _everything_ hurts!"

"Your everything hurts?" Luigi repeated sympathetically. He gave her a kiss. "Well, we have your painkillers here." He gave her the bottle. "Take two of these and you will feel better."

"(They are drowsy ones)", Guido added, grabbing his daughter a bottle of water to take the pills with, "(but I think that is okay for you. After tonight, you need the rest.)"

"Yeah", Fudge agreed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lightning and Cruz waited in the other section of the trailer, which was blocked off. They'd peered in as Luigi and Guido got Fudge settled, but were now waiting in silence. The only sound coming from that section was the TV; the RSN, to be specific.

"_Fans here at Thunder Hollow, still buzzing over tonight's unexpected appearance of_ _Lightning McQueen and his crew chief, Fudge Rossi-Topolino!_" the reporter announced.

"_They have always been my favourites!_" Miss Fritter gushed. "_My garage is covered from_ _head to toe in 95 posters!_"

"_Racing with a legend like Lightning McQueen and someone as awesome as Fudge Rossi_-_Topolino really is a dream come true!_" Roxy Rocket declared. She also appeared to be on cloud nine. "_Lightning McQueen is an extremely talented racer and Fudge, she's showing the_ _world- and humans everywhere- that we can play a role in racing too._"

"_And watching her try to escape was pretty funny!_" Wild Wes chimed in, laughing.

They replayed the clip of Fudge trying to squeeze through the gap in the fence.

In the trailer, long story short, Cruz was _very_ happy; Lightning was _not_.

"So", Cruz began, trying to make conversation, "trophy's kinda nice. Don't you think?"

Lightning didn't say anything.

"I mean", she went on, filling the silence, "I know you got, like, a _billion_ of them, so y- you would know."

The stock car remained silent.

"I still can't believe I won!" Cruz proclaimed, giddy with excitement. "It's pretty shiny. I have _never_ seen one up close. Looks like they spent a lot of money on it. I- I mean, I think it's real metal-"

"Stop!" Lightning cut her off. "Just _stop_! Okay, Cruz?! You don't even know! You don't even have _one clue_!"

"Hey!" she cried defensively. "I was just trying to-"

"Do you _know_ what happens if I lose this race?!" he interjected again.

It was Cruz's turn to be silent.

"Every mile of this trip was to get me faster than Jackson Storm!" Lightning reminded her. "_Faster_! I started off getting nowhere for a _week_ on a simulator..."

Luigi, Guido and Fudge peered in, concerned, for a second before deciding to close the divider up again.

"I lose a whole day with you on Fireball Beach and _then_, I waste tonight **IN THE CROSSHAIRS** **OF MISS FRITTER! **I'm stuck in the same speed I was a month ago! I can't get any faster **BECAUSE I'M TOO BUSY TAKING CARE OF MY TRAINER!**"

Fudge's heart pounded. She'd _never _seen Lightning get _this_ angry before and she was afraid. She knew that Lightning just got angry when he was stressed, but Cruz didn't. The yellow car was far too startled to reply, so Fudge slid off her bed, got to her feet unsteadily and what followed would have to be seen to be believed...

"Hey!" the human girl jumped to her friend's defence, stumbling into their section of the trailer and standing between the two cars. "That last one wasn't Cruz's fault!"

She thought she was doing the right thing, standing up for her friend, but unfortunately, Cruz didn't think so.

"What are you saying?" she quizzed Fudge, sounding hurt. "You think the other stuff _is_ my fault?"

Oops.

"I didn't mean-" Fudge began, shrinking back.

"I thought you were my _friend_!" Cruz interrupted. "But you agree with Mr. McQueen here!"

"I'm sorry I said anything-" the human girl started again fearfully.

"Obviously she _doesn't_ agree with me!" Lightning spoke up, interrupting. "'Cause she's been goofing off with you the whole time I've been getting nowhere!"

"How many times do I have to _tell_ you?!" Fudge's voice was rising too. "I didn't know _what_ was going on with your training! I just assumed Cruz knew what she was doing if she was given the job!"

"_Assumed_?! Well, I obviously wasn't doing a good job, according to you!" Cruz jumped in.

"I didn't _mean_ it like that!" Fudge shouted. "I was trying to stick up for you here! Lightning was yelling at you and I stuck up for you! I won't bother next time!"

"I don't need you to stick up for me", Cruz informed her coolly.

"Clearly!" Fudge shot back just as coolly as she tried to get back to bed, mainly because she was tired and in pain, but also in order to avoid Cruz and Lightning, who were both mad at her.

"Where are you going?!" Lightning demanded.

"To bed", the sixteen-year-old responded as if the answer were obvious.

"I'm not done talking to you yet!"

"Well, _I'm_ done talking to _you_!"

Out of nowhere, McQueen, seething with rage, grabbed hold of Fudge's arm and yanked her back into his section of the trailer.

"Hey!" she yelped, only it came out sounding like, "Hee-_eyyyyy_-uh!"

"Siddown and listen to me!" the race car ordered. "'Cause you're just as part of the problem as Cruz is! Life isn't just writing stories and playing games all the time! This is real stuff, Fudge! You can't just mess around here! And don't even get me_ started _on what you did tonight!"

"What did _I_ do?!" Fudge demanded, tears stinging at her eyes and a lump forming in her throat. She knew she was going to cry. She hoped Luigi, Guido and Mack were enjoying themselves. She, Lightning and Cruz were putting on quite the show.

"**ARE YOU _KIDDING_ ME?! **Fudge, you were _in a demolition derby_! You _know_ how I feel about you _racing_! What the hell were you _thinking_?!"

"First of all", a furious and hurt Fudge began, "I didn't _know_ it was a demolition derby and neither did _you_!" she added. "Second of all, I wasn't _planning_ on entering! The _officials_ were the ones who made me!"

"I'm sorry, Fudge, but what did you _think_ was gonna happen?! Walking out onto the track like that was just _stupid_! **WHAT WERE YOU _THINKING_?!** **WHAT WERE YOU _THINKING_?!**" he demanded again. Now, he was beginning to get _really_ angry with Fudge.

Fudge couldn't answer. She was just in shock at his outburst.

So, Lightning kept talking. "You could've been really hurt! You _know_ how I feel about you racing! Let alone, being in _demolition derbies_!"

"_Yes_ I know how you feel about me racing! You _never_ shut up about it!"

"Well, maybe if you were to just _listen_ to me, I wouldn't _have_ to!" Lightning shot back. "I _hate_ the idea of you racing and you don't seem to care! You're so selfish, Fudge!"

Now, whenever Fudge receives any kind of criticism, one of two things would happen. Either she would get upset or she would blow up. On this occasion, she went for the latter.

"**THAT'S BECAUSE I WANNA BE A RACER!** That's all I've wanted since I was, like, four! And _you_ don't care about _that_! _You're_ the selfish one!"

"I _do_ care!" Lightning argued. "I care _too_ much! I don't wanna see you get hurt again! Like you were tonight! If you're just here to goof off with Cruz and try to get yourself killed, then maybe you should just go home! 'Cause I don't have _time_ for this s**t!"

Things were silent for what felt like a long time.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Cruz broke the silence, sounding very bitter, but also kind of smug. Then she faced her trainee once again. "And don't you worry, Mr. McQueen. Fudge and I won't be goofing off together anymore!"

"Fine!" Fudge shouted. Then, remembering history _and_ what Cruz had said earlier, she added, "It's not like you ever cared about me anyway!"

"What are you talking about?!" Cruz demanded, sounding angry and hurt. "Of _course_ I did! I _thought_ you were my best friend! What? Do you think you're too good for me?!"

"Fine!" Fudge threw her hands in the air in frustration, playing the victim as she often did. "Everything's my fault! _I'm_ the problem here! It's _my_ fault nobody cares about me!"

"Okay, _now_, you're just being ridiculous!" Lightning was so angry he could barely speak. "_Lots_ of people care about you, Fudge!"

"**SHUT UP!**" she screamed. "_You_ never cared about me either!"

"No, _you_ shut up, Fudge! How could you _say_ that?! You don't _actually believe_ that, do you?! Because you're an idiot if you do!"

"You know what else you are?!" Cruz piped up, clearly still upset that she thought Fudge thought she was too good for her. She was so angry that she dropped a huge bomb on Fudge, which made her feel like she'd been slapped in the face. "You're a pretentious b**ch! Don't go thinking you're better than me! Your parents didn't even want you and who could blame them?!"

That did it. Fudge started to cry.

McQueen scoffed in disgust. "Fudge, _stop_ it! You're not a baby!"

"Then how come you _treat_ me like one?!" she retorted. "Come on, McQueen, you're giving me conflicting messages here!"

The stock car groaned. "When are you gonna learn to _grow up_?!"

"**SHUT UP!**" Fudge screamed again, not wanting to hear it; especially not then. She was tired, she was in pain and she was just over it!

"I'm serious, Fudge! If you wanna keep being my crew chief- if I even _win_ this race, _despite_ you screwing around- you're gonna have to realise that you need to _grow up_ and _do what I_ _ask you to do_! Like when I asked you to talk to Cruz and you _didn't_!"

"And only _now_ she tells me that she hates my training methods?!" Cruz, who had been silent for a while, added. "You only had a _week_, Fudge!"

"**I WAS _TRYING_ TO MAKE _BOTH_ OF YOU HAPPY!**" Fudge boomed, which made every single other person listening jump in surprise. "**WHICH IS _OBVIOUSLY_ AN _IMPOSSIBLE_** **THING TO DO!**"

Luigi and Guido were listening from the other section of the trailer, occasionally peering in to the other side, concerned and Mack was listening from outside as he _pulled_ the trailer. All three of them were afraid. The other three hadn't just been talking loudly; they'd been _really_ yelling. They'd been yelling so loud, in fact, that the walls had been vibrating. They'd never seen Fudge or Lightning so angry, especially not with each other. Normally, Fudge adored Lightning and Lightning was very gentle and understanding with Fudge.

Lightning let out another groan. "Can we get back to the _real_ issue here?!" he requested angrily.

There had been so much yelling and fighting about so many different things in such a short amount of time, everyone else had forgotten what the "real issue" even was.

"And that would be?" Cruz prompted, clearly annoyed.

Lightning gave her a look as if to say, _You _really_ don't know?!_ Then he glared hard at both her and Fudge. "This is my last chance, guys!" he reminded the two young women. "_Last_! Final! _Finito_! If I lose, I _never_ get to do this again! If you were _racers_, you'd know what I'm talking about, but you're _not_! So, you _don't_!"

On the last word, he slammed his tyre against the wall in sheer frustration. This caused another vibration on the walls, but this one was strong enough to knock over Cruz's trophy! It wobbled unsteadily for a couple of seconds before hitting the floor and breaking in two.

Finally, all of the yelling stopped. Cruz gasped. Fudge and Lightning's eyes widened as the former gave out a shocked hiccup in between her sobs. At that moment, all three of them knew that things had gone too far.

After taking a couple of seconds to recover from the shock, Cruz's face hardened. "Mack! Pull over!" she ordered.

"What?" he asked. "Now?"

"_Now_!" Without waiting for him to do so, Cruz opened the trailer door. Sparks flew off the back of the door as it scraped the road.

Mack gave a surprised yelp. "Okay, okay! Pullin' over, pullin' over!"

So, he did.

"Cruz-" Fudge began, trying to find her voice. Although still hurt and furious, she did feel guilty now.

"**NO!**" Cruz shouted forcefully. "I'm not gonna spend another minute where I'm obviously not wanted!"

"But-" the sixteen-year-old started to protest.

"Just one thing before I go", she announced bitterly.

"What?" Fudge and Lightning questioned simultaneously.

That was when Mack came to a stop in the woods and Cruz reversed out.

"Ask me if I dreamed of being a trainer, guys, go ahead!" she began.

Neither Lightning nor Fudge knew what to say, but it didn't matter because Cruz kept talking.

"Ask me if I got up _in the dark_ to run laps before school every day! Ask me if I saved every penny to buy a ticket to the races when they came to town! _Ask me_ if I did that, so that I could be a trainer some day! Ask me!"

"Did you-" Lightning started.

"**NO!**" Cruz shouted. Then she continued, sounding dangerously close to tears herself. "I've wanted to become a racer _forever_! Because of _you_, Mr. McQueen!"

Lightning was surprised, but Fudge wasn't. After hearing Cruz talk about how she'd wanted to be a racer and how she'd reacted when Fudge had asked her about it, the human girl wondered if there was some big revelation coming up. Nobody knew what to say, so they all waited for Cruz to keep going.

"I used to watch you on TV, flying through the air", the yellow car continued, facing away from the others. "You seemed so... fearless."

Lightning rolled out of the trailer and Luigi, Guido and Fudge came closer.

"'Dream small, Cruz.' That's what my family used to say. 'Dream small or not at all.'" There was a long pause. "They were just trying to protect me." Another long pause. "But I was the fastest kid in town _and I was gonna prove them wrong_!"

"What happened?" Lightning ventured.

"When I got to my first race, I figured it out."

"What?"

Cruz looked back at Lightning and Fudge. "That I didn't belong."

"Cruz, you're _fast_! I _saw_ you go on that simulator!" Fudge pointed out, hardly managing to find her voice. "And you learned so fast on the beach! How could you _not_ belong?"

Cruz gave the sixteen-year-old a sad look. "The other racers looked nothing like me. You know, th- they were bigger a- and stronger and so... confident. And when they started their engines... that was it. I knew I'd never be a racer."

Once again, everyone was silent.

"I just left. It was my one shot and I didn't take it."

"You're not the only one who had dreams of being a racer that didn't work out", Fudge piped up, sniffling.

The yellow car looked her way curiously. "How could they _not_ work out for _you_?!" she demanded with a small sneer. "You grew up with dozens of racing legends right under your nose and Mr. McQueen trusts- trust_ed_", she couldn't help correcting herself, earning her a glower from her ex-best friend, "-you to be his crew chief!"

"If you'd just _shut up and listen_, you'd find out!" Fudge snapped, still angry at Cruz. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down a little. "I've always dreamed of being a rider crew chief. I'd been watching races on TV well before I could talk." The human girl gestured to Luigi and Guido. "These guys are die-hard Ferrari fans."

Luigi and Guido couldn't help smiling a little bit.

"Then I found out that our town doctor was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet and a couple years after _that_, I met Lightning McQueen. And that was it. I knew I wanted to be a racer."

"So, what happened with _you_?" Cruz wondered.

"Lightning started taking me for laps down by the dirt track where we live, even on some _real_ tracks too, and I loved it. I started going to his races and I learned a lot by doing that. I was so sure that I wanted to do it and that I _could_ do it. Then I had the accident..."

Cruz lowered her hood. She should've known.

"Lightning refused to take me for laps after that." That wasn't supposed to be a dig at him. It was just true.

Lightning tried to speak, reminding Fudge of his reasons for not taking her, but the words just wouldn't come out. One last long pause took over the group.

"Yeah, so, uh... I- I'm gonna head back to the training centre", Cruz announced, looking at Fudge and Lightning again. "I think we all know it's for the best." She started to go, but then she stopped and turned around. "But can I ask you something, Mr. McQueen? What was it like for you? When you showed up to your first race. How did you know you could do it?"

"I don't know", he replied quietly. "I... I just never thought I couldn't."

Cruz thought about that for a moment. "I wish I knew what that felt like", she proclaimed finally. "Good luck, both of you." Then she started driving away again.

"Cruz!" both Fudge and Lightning called out. "Cruz, wait!"

Their calls were ignored. Cruz didn't come back.

Lightning sighed and looked at Fudge.

"You know, _I'd_ be out of here too", she informed him quietly with tears still flowing down her face. "You know, if I wasn't so tired and sore and I... had a place to go."

With that, she slunk back into the trailer and collapsed on the bed, hoping for sleep to take over her. Lightning watched her go, but didn't say anything and didn't follow her. Both of them regretted their fight, but neither one of them was ready to apologise just yet. They each thought that the other one needed some space to cool off before they could do that.

**Okay, I had three reasons for writing Fudge's role in the fight the way I did:**

**1\. It seemed appropriate, considering how she's been torn between her duties to McQueen and her friendship with Cruz.**

**2\. It adds to the tension.**

**3\. As I've said before, a lot of the time, I worry that I've made Fudge a Mary Sue and I don't want her to be a Mary Sue. I want her to be an interesting and likable, but believable, flawed character, who sometimes makes the wrong choices because, you know, she's human. I'm sure some of you will know creating a realistic OC can be easier said than done and I think I do a decent job, but maybe not perfect. However, you guys seem to like Fudge and my other OCs, so I must be doing something right. Although, I can't imagine what it is.**

**The other thing is I know I made Cruz a little mean in this chapter, but I kind of wanted all three of them (that being Lightning, Cruz and Fudge) to say things they'd regret. Plus, like I said in _Life Could Be a Dre__am_, real people get OOC when they're angry too.**

**Oh, and in case you care, I'm currently writing the _Cars 3_ part of the _Cars Origins_ trilogy. Although, I'm not loving how it's turning out. It just seems the same as this story.**

**Yeah, so, anyway, I know that was an intense chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Please review!**


	23. Numbers Never Lie

**I like to wait between updates to leave you guys- and myself- with something to look forward to. However, I keep getting excited to show you guys this story and I can'****t stop myself. Anyway, chapter twenty-three! Give it up for chapter twenty-three! XD (Anybody?)**

**Most of this chapter is the next couple of scenes from the movie (and Fudge isn't even in either of those scenes!). I've just added a couple of little bits to make it a little less boring.**

**Chapter 23- Numbers Never Lie**

As tired as she was, sleep didn't come to Fudge right away. First, she had to endure an hour of crying and self-loathing. Luigi and Guido had tried to comfort her at first, but after a while, they realised that she needed to be alone. She needed some time to think. Her fight with Lightning and Cruz was still fresh in the sixteen-year-old's mind. She just felt hurt (both physically and mentally; as if she wasn't in enough pain, it started raining, meaning all of the pain from her previously broken bones came back!), mad at Lightning, mad at Cruz and mad at herself. Plus, she felt guilty. She'd told Lightning to shut up and accused both him and Cruz of not caring about her. Fudge sincerely wished that she hadn't said those things. Then Lightning had pretty much called her stupid and immature and told her he didn't have time for her s**t and Cruz had called her a pretentious b**ch. Fudge sincerely wished that _they_ hadn't said _those_ things.

Fudge pulled out her journal. She was tired and her arm was killing her, but she didn't think she could sleep until she'd gotten this out. A lot of the time, venting in her journal and trying to organise her thoughts on paper made her feel better. By that point, Luigi and Guido were both fast asleep (she wasn't even fazed by Luigi's loud snoring, which often annoyed her when she was trying to sleep) as was Mack, who had parked under an overpass to shelter from the rain, so she had to rely solely on the light of her phone and her headphones to listen to "Lot to Learn" by Luke Christopher. After ranting about how horrible Lightning and Cruz had been to her, she added, _I can't be too mad at them, though._ _I'm just as part of the problem as they are. Cruz was right. Well, half-right, anyway. I_ _honestly don't think I'm pretentious, but I am a b**__ch. I said some pretty horrible things too. I_ _didn't mean what I said._

The human girl paused for a moment to consider that. She _hadn't_ meant what she said, had she? She thought about it, going through every single thing she said in her mind. Okay. When she stuck up for Cruz, it came out wrong. Sure, she wasn't sure of the point of Cruz's training, but the whole time, she'd been convinced that there was a reason for it. However, Cruz didn't understand that; she thought that Fudge was blaming her like Lightning had been. Then, there was telling them that she'd been trying to make both of them happy. She'd definitely meant _that_. Of course she hadn't meant it when she said that Lightning didn't care about her.

What about Cruz? That _really_ made Fudge think. Was Cruz really like all those other people who threw themselves at Fudge just so they could find out more about- and possibly meet- Lightning McQueen? Maybe. She'd _had_ said she was a big fan of both of them, but could she have just been saying that to be polite? Hold on a sec! What would Cruz _possibly_ have to gain from pretending to like Fudge? She was _training_ Lightning McQueen! Fudge didn't know, but she was sure it was something. _Come on, Fudge!_ she scolded herself. _Why_ _can't you open yourself up to the possibility that Cruz might_ genuinely _like you? Oh, come_ _on!_ she scolded herself again. _When has_ anybody ever _liked me for me?_

It was a lot to think about, but Fudge just couldn't deal with it at that point. With her journal entry unfinished and as incoherent as could be, she lay back on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

As Cruz made her way through the woods, getting back to the training centre, she couldn't help wondering if she'd made some mistakes. She wondered if telling them about her first- and only- race was a mistake. Well, Lightning couldn't relate to it; he probably didn't understand, but in some ways, it sounded like Fudge could and did. She wondered if calling Fudge a pretentious b**ch and bringing up her parents were mistakes. Well, Fudge _had_ hurt her, but still, that _did_ seem uncalled-for. She wondered if leaving was a mistake too.

She froze, thinking about that. Lightning still had a chance to get back in the game. As his trainer, she had the duty of helping him, didn't she? Should she go back?

_Why would I go back?_ she asked herself. _They obviously don't need me! They think my_ _training methods are stupid._

That settled it. Cruz was going back to the Rust-Eze Racing Center. If Mr. Sterling still wanted one of his trainers to stay with Lightning, then he was just going to have to get someone else to do it because she was done.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the other section of the trailer, Lightning was just as upset and confused as his sister and trainer were. After a very long time of silence, when he thought that everyone was asleep, the sound of Fudge's sobs came through the walls and he felt even more guilty. He hadn't made Fudge cry since the day he met her. Not wanting to hear her crying anymore, he turned on the TV and channel-surfed, not really wanting to watch anything, only stopping when he stumbled across a familiar show.

"_Champion for the Ages Chick Hicks here, coming to you live from Chick Hicks_ _Studios_", announced guess who, "_where I'm joined once again by Next Gen racing expert,_ _Natalie Certain._"

"_Thanks, Chick_", Natalie Certain replied. "_Piston Cup champion Jackson Storm set a new_ _record today when he pulled off the fastest lap ever recorded: an unprecedented two_ _hundred and thirteen miles an hour!_"

Lightning watched in disbelief as they showed Storm taking the lap. This was the _last_ thing he needed to be hearing!

"_Wow!_" Chick exclaimed. "_So, whaddaya think, Certain? Stormy boy gonna start the_ _season with another win?_"

"_Highly likely, Chick_", Natalie confirmed. "_Based on his recent run times and forecasted track_ _temperatures on race day, Storm's chances of winning are... ninety-five point two per cent._"

"_That low, huh?_" Chick joked.

"_Oh, and in case you missed it_", Chick went on, "_talk of the track tonight is Lightning_ _McQueen and his kindergartener crew chief finding _yet _another way to embarrass_ _themselves! At a _demolition derby_!"_

The humiliating footage of Lightning being chased by Arvy and Miss Fritter lit up the screen, followed by the footage of Fudge's escape attempt and a photo of Lightning stood in front of the "I got my tyres dirty at Thunder Hollow" sign. Lightning couldn't believe it. After his fight with Fudge and Cruz, Thunder Hollow felt like a million years ago. Plus, despite how mad he'd gotten at Fudge, he was mad at Chick for making fun of her.

"_Whoa!_" Chick continued. "_Almost makes me feel sorry for Team McQueen. Not really!_" He laughed. "_Here's what his new sponsor had to say._"

The Rust-Eze Racing Center was swamped with press.

"_Everyone, relax! The 95's gonna race_", Sterling assured them all. "_Lightning's just taking a_ _somewhat... unconventional approach to this race, is all. It's one of the things his fans love_ _about him._"

"_Yeah, right! Talk about humiliating!_" Chick proclaimed. "_If I were old Ka-chow, I wouldn't_ _even bother to show up in Florida._"

"_That could be for the best, Chick_", Natalie agreed. "_Even if he does race, McQueen's_ _probability of winning is.._." The end of the sentence completely stunned Lightning. "..._one_ _point two per cent._"

"_Wow!_" Chick repeated.

"_Numbers_ never _lie_", Natalie went on. "_I'm willing to predict tonight that Lightning_ _McQueen's racing career will be over within the week._" There was a pause before Natalie voiced the depressed Lightning's thoughts. "_It might even be over now._"

"_I mean, I knew his career was stuck in a ho-_" Chick began tauntingly.

Whatever he was about to say remained a mystery to Lightning, who had decided that he didn't care to listen anymore. He switched off the TV with a sigh. Although he was depressed, he was grateful for the silence. It meant that Fudge was no longer crying and he could get the time and freedom to think that he so desperately needed. What was he gonna do? Training with the simulators hadn't worked, getting his tyres dirty hadn't worked. What else could he try? He needed a miracle, but he was all out of ideas. He had never felt so lost in his life.

* * *

Lightning stared at the screen in front of him, hoping that there would be an answer. It was late, but he needed a familiar face to cheer him up. Thankfully, there was an answer.

"_Well, hey there, buddy!_" the tow truck greeted him excitedly. As usual, he was very happy to see his best friend.

Lightning laughed a little, very glad to see him too. "Mater!" He felt better already. Now, more than ever, he was grateful that he'd gotten Mater an iPad and set it up for him, so they could FaceTime each other while the race car was away at races.

"_You know, I was just thinkin' of you and here you are, lookin' right at me!_" Mater proclaimed. His entire face filled the screen. "_Can you see me okay?_" He adjusted the camera. "_Hold on a second there. Hold_ _on. Let me see here._" Now, it was just his eye hogging the screen. "_Is that better?_"

"Looking you straight in the eye there, pal", Lightning confirmed. "Hey. Sorry about calling so late."

"_Shoot, not for me, it's not_", Mater countered. _"I'm always burnin' that midnight oil. So__, get_ _me_ _caught up on everythin'._"

"Well, actually, kinda hoping I might hear what's going on back home."

"_Well, not much_", Mater replied. "_Not if you don't count Sarge and Fillmore trying __to run_ _the __tyre shop, but tell Luigi not to worry. Sarge is gonna track down every last tyre that_ _Fillmore done gived away_ and _he's gon' find the mouse that Jennyfur done brought inside._" Lightning laughed as Mater added, "_Other than that, everythin's good._"

"How's Sally?" Lightning wanted to know.

"_Oh, she's fine_", his best friend assured him. "_Keepin' busy at the Cone. She misses you._" He paused and added, "_Well, shoot! We all do when you're on the road._"

"Yeah." McQueen's voice was quiet. "You know, I- I've been kinda thinking about that. You know, wh- what we should do when I'm not on the road anymore."

"_What do you mean 'not on the road?'_" Mater wondered.

"Well, you know... Mater, I can't do this forever."

"_Huh?_"

Lightning sighed. "I'm just not getting anywhere with the training. If anything, I've gotten _slower_, not faster."

"_Shoot, buddy, it'll work out_", the tow truck sympathised. "_Just tell me what the problem is_ _and I'll stay right here with ya till we fix it._"

"That's just it, Mater. I don't _know_." After a moment of silence, Lightning continued, sounding depressed. "And I feel like I'm all out of ideas."

"_Hmmm..._" Mater pondered over that. "_All right. Let me think... Oh! You know what I'd do?_"

"What?" Even though Mater didn't understand heaps about racing, Lightning would appreciate anybody's thoughts and opinions on the topic, especially his best friend's.

Mater was silent for a while before responding with, "_I don't know. I got nothin'. I guess I_ _ain't Doc when it comes to that._"

"I would give anything to talk to him right now", the stock car declared sadly. There had been countless times since Doc's passing that he wished he could talk to him, but never more than right then.

"_Yep, there was nobody smarter than ol' Doc_", Mater went on. "_Well, except for maybe_ _whoever taught 'im._"

"Yeah... Wait. What?"

"_I mean, everybody was taught by somebody, right?_" Mater reasoned. "_Take my cousin,_ _Doyle. He taught me how to sing and whistle at the same time. He was very musical that_ _way._"

An idea was beginning to form in Lightning's mind. "Smokey", he whispered to himself. Then, louder, he announced, "Mater, you're _brilliant_!"

"_Ah, well._" Mater laughed modestly. "_It's all about the shape of yer teeth._"

"I gotta go to Thomasville!" McQueen realised.

"_Oh, well, good_", Mater replied. "_You know me, buddy. I'm always happy to help. I think I'm_ _better at that than most folks. You know, talking and stuff._"

Lightning smiled. "You sure are, buddy." He and Mater both grinned silently for a moment before the stock car kept talking. "So, singing and whistling at the same time, huh?"

"_Yep_", Mater confirmed just as modestly as before. "_When you get back home, I kin teach ya_ _if you want._"

"Yeah. I'd... I'd like that. Thanks."

Mater knew that he didn't just mean thanks for the offer.

* * *

Lightning talked to Mater a little while longer before they said goodbye. He would tell Mack that he wanted to head for Thomasville, but that could wait until the morning. For now, however, eyeing the two pieces of Cruz's trophy, Lightning knew what he had to do.

**Next chapter is a little more original. Please review.**


	24. Making Things Right

**Well, today is a very special day! It is exactly one year since I finished writing this story! Yay! So, to commemorate the occasion, here's a brand new chapter! Double yay!**

**As you may have guessed by the name of this chapter, the reconciliation is all one chapter. I felt like the humorous apology in the movie was a good icebreaker, but Lightning and Cruz (and now Fudge!) would have to have a serious conversation about the situation. And, for the first time in a while for this story, this chapter features a flashback.**

**So, here it is!**

**Chapter 24- Making Things Right**

The first thing that Mack, Luigi, Guido and Fudge noticed when they woke up the following morning was that Lightning was excited and full of energy, a complete turnaround to the night before.

"What's going on?" everyone wondered.

"I got an idea!" he informed them, his mouth running at Jackson Storm's top speed. "I'll explain later, but first, there's something I gotta do."

"What?" Luigi wondered.

Lightning looked to Fudge. "Fudge."

Fudge looked his way with an unreadable expression. "What?"

"Do you feel like taking a walk?"

"With you?"

"Yeah."

Things were quiet for a moment. "All right. Just let me get dressed." She rummaged through one of her bags and found her red 95 T-shirt to pull on along with some softer jeans and flip-flops before following Lightning out of the trailer. She wasn't sure about this. She was still mad at him and she was mad at Cruz and herself too. Still, if he wanted to talk to her, she might as well listen.

* * *

As they walked/drove, the two were silent for a long time.

Finally, Lightning took a deep breath. "All right, Fudge. I think you can guess I didn't bring you out here just for a walk. I think we need to talk."

"I think we do", the sixteen-year-old agreed expressionlessly.

Lightning sighed again. "I did a lot of thinking last night and I... I think I owe you an apology. I didn't mean to make you cry and I'm sorry." Even though it was Cruz's words that had actually started Fudge's tears, Lightning knew that he had played a part in making Fudge cry too. He paused. "That said, I think _you_ owe _me_ an apology too."

"I know", Fudge admitted. "I'm sorry. I said some things last night that I really didn't mean. I was just angry and upset."

"I know you were, but... you... you just didn't _think_ last night. You know, when you walked out onto the track. Do you ever walk out on the track at Piston Cup races?"

"No..."

"Exactly. Plus, I was worried about you. You know how I feel about you racing."

"Yeah I do", Fudge admitted.

"I just want to make sure you understand _why_ I don't want you racing."

Fudge nodded seriously. "I do."

"I'm serious, Fudge", Lightning insisted, his voice cracking. "Your accident was the worst night of my life. I was giving you CPR and I was so afraid that you weren't going to wake up. I didn't even wanna race after what happened to you."

"Yeah. I know. You stayed at home with me 'cause you didn't wanna race till I was better."

"Actually", Lightning began uncomfortably, "that's not the _only_ reason I stayed home for most the season." He couldn't believe that he was about to tell her this, but if they were going to move past their fight, they had to be honest with each other.

Fudge looked his way curiously.

"When you were still in the coma, I went to the first race of that season", he began.

Fudge was surprised. This was news to her. "You did?"

"Yeah. I mean, there was nothing I could do for you. Most of the time, it was only family allowed to see you and even when we could go in there, I was too afraid to go near you. Plus, I thought I needed the distraction, so I went. I wanted to win it for you."

"What happened?"

"It was horrible. All I could think about was the last time I was out on a racetrack! Every time I went around a turn, I felt like I had to stop to turn around and help you. After about twenty-five laps, there was a big wreck. And that was the last straw. I left the race and refused to go back. I just came home and stayed with you."

Fudge's eyes widened. "Oh, my God", she murmured softly.

"I had nightmares about your accident a lot too", Lightning went on. Tears formed his eyes and spilled over and he began to cry.

Fudge was alarmed to see him in tears.

"Remember how I would come and wake you up in the morning and you said I looked tired? And how I woke up crying when I was staying with you and you were asking what was wrong? Well, that's why!"

The human girl remembered that. She couldn't believe it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Fudge wondered.

"'Cause you were dealing with so much at that point already. You were in pain, Luigi had had an engine attack and wasn't with you all that much. You were stuck in bed, going crazy. I didn't wanna make you feel worse than you already did."

Fudge could understand that. She also felt really guilty, remembering every single time she'd begged Lightning to take her out racing. The one that came to mind was the first time...

* * *

"_Wow!" Lightning exclaimed, gazing at the racetrack in front of him. They were in_ _Australia and preparing for a race at the track in Melbourne. "This track looks amazing!"_

"_It does look really cool!" thirteen-year-old Fudge agreed. Her accident was a little over a_ _year ago by then and, although she could walk, Fudge still had to spend a lot of time in a_ _wheelchair._

"_All right. Well, I'm meeting the others for a couple of practise laps", Lightning announced_ _once they were set up in the pits. "You all know what to do."_

"_Hey, Lightning?" Fudge spoke up._

"_What is it, Fudge-O? I gotta go."_

"_I was wondering when I'd get to go for some laps again. I'm getting better now and I really_ _miss doing that."_

_Lightning paused._

"_I really don't think that's a good idea, sweetie", he answered gently, stroking her hair._

"_What? Why not?"_

"_Because of what happened the last time!" he reminded her._

"_But I-"_

"_Wow! I better go!" the stock car announced. "Why don't we talk about this after the race?"_

"_It's not fair!" Fudge pouted._

"_I'm sorry." Lightning stopped dead in his tracks. "Is it unfair that I'm afraid you'll almost get_ _killed again? Is it unfair that that I care about you too much to put you through that again?"_

_Things were silent for a long time._

"_Sorry", Fudge murmured guiltily._ _She wished that she hadn't said anything._

"_It's all right", Lightning told her with a sigh. He stroked her hair. "I know how much you_ _loved it." He gave her a kiss. "Well, I gotta go. We'll talk about this later, all right, Fudge?"_

"_All right", she agreed softly._

_Though, they never did talk about it later._

* * *

"I'm sorry", Fudge apologised. "I should've been more understanding."

"Well, I was a little mad at you for constantly asking", Lightning admitted. "I was so afraid of letting you get back out on the track and you didn't seem to care."

"Look, just because I wanted to get back out on the track, that doesn't mean I wasn't afraid", Fudge countered. She wasn't getting mad at him; she was just being honest with him like he had been with her. "You guys always wanted me to face my fears and said I could do it. That's the only reason I was ever able to expose Axlerod with Mater. There's a difference between being brave and being fearless, you know."

Lightning gave her a sad smile. "Well, this is a little bit different, Fudge-O." He sighed. "I know it's been hard on you", he told her gently. "It's been hard on all of us."

"I knew it was hard on you, but I didn't know it was _that_ hard", she admitted.

"That's because you don't remember what happened. I don't think you understand just how bad the accident was", he informed her quietly. "You nearly _died_, Fudge!"

"I know!" she reminded him.

"No! I don't think you _do_ know, Fudge! I was in the hospital waiting room and I could hear the doctors talking! I heard them say... say..." He trailed off, sobbing. "They said they were losing you, Fudge! They didn't think you were gonna make it!"

Fudge went cold all over, hearing that. She hadn't realised that things had gotten that bad. Tears pooled in _her_ eyes and_ she_ began to cry too.

"Oh, my God!" she murmured softly.

"Yeah. Now, you know why I don't want you racing anymore."

"Yeah, I get it", she sniffled. Suddenly, she realised that her wanting to keep racing was just as selfish as him telling her she couldn't.

"You promise?"

"Promise. I won't ask anymore and I'm sorry I ever did."

"C'mere!" Lightning whispered softly through his tears. He gave Fudge a hug. "I forgive you, all right? Hey. I forgive you." He kissed the girl's temple as he held her close to him and both of them sobbed.

"And I'm sorry I said you didn't care about me. I never meant that. I know you care about me. You'd still let me race if you didn't. I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't. You were fed up. Can I just ask, though, what did you mean when you told Cruz she didn't care about you? I thought you guys were friends."

Fudge sighed. "Do you really wanna know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

Fudge took another deep breath. "All right. This isn't something that's _just_ happened. This is something that's been going on for a while, but... Sometimes, I feel like nobody cares about me for me, if you know what I mean. It's like everyone I run into, who sees me on the street and knows who I am doesn't care about _Fudge_", she explained, the tears continuing to flow. "They just care about the girl who knows Lightning McQueen!"

"Like Zara and Layla."

"Yeah, but they weren't the first and they weren't the last."

"Yeah, I get that."

"You do?"

"Yeah. The same thing happens to me all the time too."

"What do you do?"

"There's nothing you really _can_ do, except find out who your real friends are and make sure they know you're important to you."

"How do you know who your real friends are?"

"You'll know. Like, I know _you're_ my real friend. Well, actually, you're my little sister, which is even _better_ than my friend." He brushed a strand of hair from Fudge's face. "Because you are a very special girl, Fudge. I know it, Luigi and Guido know it, everyone in Radiator Springs knows it, even Bobby and Cal and Rusty and Dusty, The King and Tex know it." He paused and added, "Cruz seemed like a real friend."

"Yeah. Yeah she was", Fudge realised. "But that doesn't matter now. I've blown it!"

"Maybe not."

"Of course I have. She was a real friend. I even told her about my _mother_", Fudge added importantly. "And I treated her like trash."

"Maybe not", Lightning repeated, starting to drive in the direction they came from. Confused, Fudge followed. "Let's head back to the trailer. I got an idea."

* * *

"Well, I'm glad we had this talk now", Lightning declared as he and Fudge tried to dry their eyes. He gave her one last hug before they went back inside.

"Yeah. Me too", Fudge agreed as they entered the trailer.

"Is everything okay?" Luigi questioned.

"Yeah, we're all good", Lightning assured him.

"Then why do you both look like you have been crying?"

"Things got a little emotional, but it's all good."

Luigi nodded. "Okay."

"So", Fudge announced, desperate to change the subject, "Lightning said he had an idea." She looked to the stock car.

"Well, I guess it's no secret that nothing I've tried so far has been working, so now, I've got a new plan."

Immediately, he had the group's interest.

"My first choice for advice right now would've been Doc", he went on, "but of course, he's... gone..." His voice shook for just a second, but Lightning continued in a strong tone. "Doc may not still be around, but I was thinking we could head to where he used to race and who knows? Maybe we'll find his old crew chief."

"Smokey!" Fudge jumped in excitedly, remembering hearing that name. "Great idea, Lightning!"

"Where exactly is the track, boss?" Mack wanted to know.

"Thomasville, Georgia", McQueen responded.

"Thomasville?" Fudge echoed. "We could see Sammy!" Her half-sister, Sammy, lived in Thomasville.

"Yeah we could." Lightning spoke to Mack once again. "But is it all right if we make a stop on the way? Fudge and I got something we wanna do."

* * *

"I see 'er, boss!" Mack announced some time later.

"Great!" Lightning replied. "You know what to do. You ready, Fudge?"

"I guess so..." She was nervous for a couple of reasons.

"If it makes you feel any better, _I'll_ be doing it with you", Lightning reminded her.

"Yeah, I know." That didn't make Fudge feel any better.

Mack let his horn blare for a couple of seconds as he switched over to the other side of the road. That was their cue. The trailer door opened.

"Hey, Cruz!" Lightning greeted the yellow car in front of them casually.

"Hi, Cruz", Fudge added quietly.

"You won't talk me out of this, guys!" she informed them straight up. "I'm going back. I resign as your trainer."

"All right. I accept your resignation", Lightning responded just as casually as he'd spoken before. He closed the trailer door. "Bye."

"See ya!" Fudge called.

Cruz was both surprised and confused. "Uh... Okay..."

She should've known it was too good to be true. A second later, the door was open again.

"_But_", Lightning continued, "since you've cleared your calendar, why don't you come with us? I'm looking for someone named Smokey. Hoping he can help me. Maybe he can help you too."

Cruz shook her hood. "Nah."

"Come on!" Lightning pressed in a singsong voice. It was the exact same voice he used on Fudge when she was crying and he was trying to get her to smile. He pushed forward her trophy, which was now loosely wrapped in duct tape. "I fixed it!"

"Come on, Cruz!" Fudge chimed in when she didn't say anything. "It'll be more fun if you come! We _want_ you there!"

Cruz's eyes softened ever so slightly. "You do?"

Fudge nodded sincerely. "Absolutely. Besides, I think it would be better for everyone if you agree now before what's about to happen."

"Why?" Cruz wondered. "What's about to happen?"

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'Ignorance is bliss?'"

Cruz considered.

"No. Thanks anyway, but... but I'm done."

"Okay", Lightning kept going, "but maybe... _this_ will change your mind."

Fudge whimpered and made a face. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this!" she groaned.

Lightning ignored her. "Hit it!"

The divider in the trailer opened up and Guido and Luigi started up the music. It was the exact same energetic music Cruz had used in the training centre.

"First, I'm gonna loosen up these ancient joints!" Lightning began, doing so.

"No! Please don't!" Cruz practically begged.

Lightning and Fudge started dancing and talking to the beat, amid some nervous laughter from Fudge. "We're sorry, we're sorry, we're sorry that we yelled! It wasn't your fault that we almost got killed!"

"Stop!" Cruz cried.

"But now, you're leaving and you won't get on the ramp, you won't get on the ramp!"

"All right! I'll go! All right! I'll go! Just stop!" Cruz shouted.

Fudge grinned. "I warned ya", she informed Cruz as she rolled up the ramp.

"Yeah, well, if you cared enough to do _that_, then I should probably go", Cruz retorted.

"Just don't mention it to anybody", the human girl instructed.

"Okay."

"Yeah, what happens in the trailer stays in the trailer."

"That reminds me", Lightning piped up. He looked to the two young women in front of him. "I think the three of us need to have a talk."

"I'll say", Fudge agreed.

"All right", Cruz added.

"Guido? Let's make sure we have enough tyres for the dirt track", Luigi suggested, merely as an excuse to give the three some space.

"Okay." Guido followed his best friend into the other section of the trailer.

* * *

"First thing's first", Lightning took charge. He picked up the trophy. "This is the Voice Trophy. Only the person with the trophy can talk. Got it?"

Fudge and Cruz nodded. As childish as it seemed, they knew why he was laying down such a rule; the night before, all of them had been shouting at each other, but nobody was really listening to what anybody else was saying.

"We'll each take turns to say what we wanna say about last night, voice any thoughts and concerns. The other two will listen and not interrupt. They can say whatever they want when they have the Voice Trophy and then if anybody has anything to add at the end, raise your hand or tyre and you can have the trophy again. Fair enough?"

They nodded again.

"All right. Well, since I have it now, I might as well start. Then Cruz, then Fudge. We'll go alphabetically, according to last names."

Neither one of the other two objected.

"All right." Lightning sighed. "Well, I guess I was mad at both of you. I felt like we were wasting time with my training. You know, with you asking me to take a nap and only going five miles an hour on the treadmill. But I guess the real thing that I was mad about was that I wasn't getting anywhere. I was getting slower, not faster. I now realise that wasn't entirely your fault, but I _did_ take it out on you and I'm sorry. I guess that's it. The other stuff, I said to Fudge earlier." He handed the trophy over to Cruz.

"Well, I was a little hurt that you said all those things, Mr. McQueen, but I've thought about it and I guess you're right", she admitted. "I _wasn't_ being really helpful. That wasn't my intention, but... I'm sorry if that's what happened. If you want, we can talk about your training plan together." She looked to Fudge. "And I'm _really_ sorry I called you a pretentious b**ch. Though, it _did_ feel like you were acting like one. And I'm sorry I brought up your parents like that."

Finally, Fudge took the trophy. "You're right, Cruz. I _was_ acting like..." She trailed off, not wanting to swear. "... you know. I didn't mean it, though. I was just angry and, well... I'm not saying _you_ do this, but I have had some fans only care about me because I know Lightning McQueen. They just pretend to like me and use me for that. I guess sometimes I have trouble believing that someone actually liked me for me. I'm sorry I accused you of doing the same thing... The other thing is you and Lightning had different ideas with the training and I could see both sides. I just didn't want to hurt either one of you because I care about both of you a lot." She realised something else. "I was listening to my heart when I should've been listening to my head." After a pause, she added, "Anybody else want to say anything?"

Cruz raised her tyre, so Fudge handed the trophy over.

"Why would I need to pretend to like you?" she wondered. "I'm training Lightning McQueen, aren't I?" She gave the trophy back, so Fudge could answer.

"I know. I see that now."

"So, we're good?" Lightning asked finally after a long pause. Even though he didn't have the trophy, it didn't matter now. They'd listened to each other and had mutual understanding.

"Yeah, we're good", both young women assured him in unison.

"So, I was thinking. None of us really knows what to expect when we get to Thomasville, so for now, why don't we just play it by ear?"

"Sounds like a plan", they agreed.

* * *

Once that was done, Fudge joined her fathers in preparing some more tyres for Thomasville.

Luigi beamed and gave her a hug. "We are so proud of you, Fudge."

"For what?" she wondered. "I acted like a total jerk last night."

"It is not the mistakes you have made that are important, but how you own up to them."

Fudge smiled. "Is that you or Uncle Topolino talking?"

**Well, that's it for this chapter! I'm really excited about the next one and I hope you guys are too! That'll be coming on Friday, so stay tuned...**

**In the meantime, though, anybody got any reviews?**


	25. Glory Days

**Happy Valentine's Day, guys! Here is my gift to all of you! I'm pretty excited about this chapter, considering it's one of my favourite parts of the movie. Plus, I've got a new(ish) and kind of unusual OC, whom I really like, so I hope you like this OC too! :)**

**Chapter 25- Glory Days**

"How do you know Smokey's gonna be here?" Cruz quizzed McQueen as they drew closer to Thomasville.

"I don't", Lightning replied.

"Oh. Do you know if he's even alive?"

"Nope."

"Okay..."

"Fudge, has Sammy ever said anything about Smokey?" Lightning questioned. "Or RJ?"

"I think he's come up once or twice. I would've thought they'd have mentioned it if he wasn't alive. Then again, maybe not", she second guessed herself.

"So, tell me this", Cruz requested. "How do you know if it's Smokey? Is there such-"

"Wait! Mack!" Lightning cut her off. "Pull over. Back it up, back it up."

Mack obeyed and Lightning exited the trailer. He was greeted by an ancient sign with Doc's image on it accompanied by the words THOMASVILLE SPEEDWAY HOME OF 51 FABULOUS HUDSON HORNET.

"Good to see you, Doc", the race car murmured to himself.

"Hey", Cruz spoke up as she and Fudge joined him. "Isn't that your old crew chief?"

"And mentor, doctor and father figure", Fudge put in importantly, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

"Hey, Cruz, Fudge. You wanna check out the home track of the greatest racer ever?"

"I know _I _do!" Fudge answered eagerly, following Lightning. Although her sister had given her an invitation to visit any time she wanted, this was her first visit to Thomasville. Normally, they'd meet up in Radiator Springs, or in Alaska with RJ, or a neutral location.

"Aren't we supposed to be looking for Smokey?" Cruz called after them as she, too, followed. "Oh, that's right. He's _dead_."

"We don't _know_ that", Lightning reminded her.

"Where the hell _is _everyone?" Fudge wondered as they walked through the quiet and seemingly-empty town.

"I told you", Cruz replied. "This is a ghost town."

"Well, Fudge's sister's gotta be here", Lightning insisted.

"I don't know if she's _here_", Fudge pointed out logically. "She might be visiting RJ in Alaska or Finn and Holley in London or something." Even though Sammy left CHROME after she recovered from her cancer, she kept in touch with Finn and Holley and would act as an informant, should they need it. The sixteen-year-old readjusted her glasses. "Though, she's not the only one who lives here. As far as I know."

Lightning pushed open the doors to the speedway under the grandstand, the locks so old that they just broke. They groaned with age.

"Are you sure you have time for this?" Cruz asked.

"For this", Lightning assured her, entering the tunnel, "I do."

Fudge looked around, smiling as she caught a glimpse of _B.M. + S.R._ carved into a heart in the wood. That was Bobby Miller and Sammy Rose. She remembered hearing that Sammy's firstborn son, Jamie's, father's name was Bobby Miller. She wondered not only what was it like to race here in the fifties, but what it was like for her brother and sister to grow up here. Well, Sammy had moved to Thomasville when she was ten, but still, they must've had so many memories there. It was kind of like Radiator Springs and not at all where Fudge could picture Sammy living.

As the trio entered the racetrack, all three of them felt a wave of nostalgia crash into them. Old and rundown, it may be, but still, it was like stepping back in time sixty-odd years.

"This is amazing!" Fudge breathed.

"I know", Lightning agreed softly. "Wow. If this track could talk!"

"It'd probably say, 'Wow! You're the youngest people I've seen in a _long_ time!'" Fudge joked. "Seriously, though, this would've been an awesome place to race back in the day."

"It'll be just as awesome now", Lightning insisted. "Cruz, what do you say? Let's take a lap." He revved his engine and shot off to do just that. "Whoa-ho-ho! Yeah!"

Cruz watched for a second before letting out a little laugh. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, shooting off after him.

By then, Fudge had climbed to the top of the platform where the flag waver would have once stood. It was really old, as was everything else in sight (except for Cruz!) and rickety and she feared that the whole thing would collapse under her weight. Yet, that was where she stayed for two reasons. First of all, to be out of the way. She wanted to show Lightning that she was sticking true to her word about not asking- or even _hinting_ that she wanted to go racing again. Second of all, the view the sixteen-year-old got from up there was simply _incredible_! Her first impulse had been to cheer for the two cars racing down there, but there was something about the track that kept her silent. It was impressive and it was powerful. It was something much more than her.

All of a sudden, Lightning had made it to the first left turn. He performed the "turn right to go left" manoeuvre. Cruz, who had failed to understand what he meant at first, imitated him and executed the move exceptionally well, laughing all the way. Fudge watched the two, amazed. She was right about Cruz; she _was_ a fast learner.

"Ho-ho! Yes!" Lightning cheered. "You _nailed_ it!"

"Way easier without the School Bus of Death trying to kill us!"

"Yeah! No kidding!" Lightning agreed as they drifted again.

Even though she was out of the way and not really part of their moment, Fudge found herself laughing along with them. Not only because it was an incredible moment, but she was just so glad to be friends with both of them again.

* * *

Lightning and Cruz raced around the track for almost an hour before they ran into another soul. Almost literally. From her spot on the platform, Fudge noticed a vaguely familiar brownish-orange Hudson pickup truck approaching the track. She watched him curiously as he parked in the middle of the track while Cruz and Lightning were still using it. What was he doing? Fudge started climbing down to get back to her brother and best friend. Lightning had seen him and gasped, trying to stop in time. He slammed on his brakes and, luckily, managed to come to a halt just in front of the truck, eyes closed. Everything was silent for a moment.

"Starting to think I might never meet you", the truck proclaimed finally.

Lightning knew exactly who it was. "Smokey?"

Smokey glanced over at Fudge and Cruz as they appeared by Lightning's side. He looked surprised and did a double take when he saw Fudge, but didn't say anything. Fudge could only guess that he thought she looked like Sammy.

Cruz gasped. "He _is_ alive!"

"It's a miracle!" Fudge added, giggling. Only, she spoke quietly, embarrassed about what Smokey would say if he heard her say that.

"I know why you're here", Smokey informed Lightning.

Another silence settled over them; Lightning expecting Smokey to say something else. However, the next words out of the pickup truck's mouth weren't what anybody expected at all.

"You're thirsty!"

He started to drive away and while the other three were surprised and confused, they followed.

As she followed Smokey, Fudge felt someone- or some_thing_\- give her the fright of her life. They grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. Fudge yelped and turned around to find Sammy standing there in a dark green mechanic's jumpsuit and black leather boots with her short rainbow hair (which had recently grown back and she'd dyed every colour of the rainbow as she had before her chemotherapy) hidden by a cap. She was grinning from ear to ear. Now that she was out of CHROME, she was looking for a fresh start in life, which meant learning to be a mechanic. She would go to medical school later on to learn to be a doctor. After all, her desire to help others and save lives was still there!

"I _hate_ it when you do that!" Fudge grumbled.

"I know!" Sammy laughed. "That's why I do it!"

"Hey, Sammy!" Lightning greeted her.

"Hey, McQueen! How have you guys been?"

Fudge shrugged. "Okay, I guess. We're trying to get Lightning back in the game for Florida."

Sammy grinned. "So, you decided to keep racing? That's great! Jackson Storm needs to be taught a thing or two."

Lightning sighed ruefully. "Yeah, well, it's not going well so far."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure a drink could fix that."

Sammy started walking with them. As she did, she looked past her half-sister and her surrogate brother at the yellow car. "Who's the racer with you? I saw her earlier. She's not bad."

"Oh, I'm not a racer", Cruz piped up. "I'm just a trainer."

Fudge made the introductions. "Cruz, Sammy. Sammy, Cruz."

"Oh! So, you're Fudge's sister!" Cruz realised. "Well, _half_-sister! I should've known! You look so alike!"

"Yeah." Sammy slipped her arm around Fudge. "We get that a lot."

Smokey overheard them and laughed. "It's true! I can't believe I didn't realise! So, this is the long lost family member you and RJ have been telling us about!"

"The very same!" Sammy confirmed. She looked back at Cruz. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Cruz, uh..."

"Ramirez", she supplied. "Cruz Ramirez. I've been training Mr. McQueen for the Florida 500."

"Don't worry", Sammy assured the group. "I'm sure we'll get some help where we're going... Oh! Here we are!"

Smokey led the group to a building with a sign out front, reading: COTTER PIN BAR AND GRILL.

"I tell you what", he declared. "These folks are gonna get a kick out of meetin' Hud's boy."

"_Hud_?!" Fudge repeated incredulously. She knew who he meant, but she was surprised to hear him call Doc that.

"Who's Hud?" Cruz asked. Then she answered her own question. "Oh. Doc _Hud_son. _Right_."

Right when they were about to enter the bar, a large white goose appeared from nowhere, honking loudly. Fudge jumped as she'd always been afraid of geese, Lightning yelped in surprise and Cruz looked unsure of what to do. Sammy laughed at their reactions.

"Whoa! Easy there, Herman!" Smokey called out. "They're with me!"

The goose hissed and seemed to eye each of the newcomers suspiciously, but backed off.

Fudge laughed nervously. "So, _this_ is Herman!" She remembered hearing about him from Sammy and even Doc once.

Sammy nodded. "The loyal goose of Thomasville", she explained as Smokey opened the doors to the bar.

"Am I allowed in here?" Fudge wondered out loud. She hoped the answer was _yes_, so she didn't have to stay outside with Herman.

"Why wouldn't you be allowed in here?" Sammy asked.

"It's a bar and I'm under twenty-one", she pointed out.

"No one here's gonna care. Don't worry about it", Smokey, who had overheard once again, assured her as he entered.

"Hey!" Smokey called out over the sound of music and chatter inside the bar, prompting everyone to fall silent and look their way. "Act civilised! We got company!"

"Act civilised?" Fudge whispered to Lightning as they followed Smokey, who was greeting the regulars. "Was he talking to them or us?"

Lightning didn't answer. He was too busy staring at who was at the other end of the bar, chatting away. "Would you look at that?"

Fudge looked where he was and her eyes widened. "Oh, my God, oh, my _God_!" she exclaimed softly and excitedly.

"What?" Cruz asked.

"Three of the biggest racing legends _ever_!" Lightning informed her, naming each of them. "Junior 'Midnight' Moon, River Scott..."

"Louise 'Barnstormer' Nash!" Lightning and Cruz finished together.

"She had thirty-eight wins!" Cruz added.

"The First Lady of Racing!" Fudge chimed in. "That's very impressive!"

"I see you're familiar with our friends." That was Sammy.

"It's great that they're all here!" Fudge commented. "Now, we've got even _more_ brains to pick."

As Fudge, Sammy, Smokey, Lightning and Cruz approached the table, they grabbed the Legends' attention.

"Well, as I live and breathe!" Louise Nash exclaimed. "If it ain't Lightning McQueen!"

"Ms. Nash, it's a pleasure to meet-" Lightning began.

"You've had a tough year, haven't you?" Louise cut in bluntly.

"Oh! Uh..." Lightning wasn't sure how to respond.

"Shouldn't you be running practise laps in Florida by now?" River Scott quizzed him.

"Yeah, sure, but-"

"They are here to steal our secrets!" Junior Moon announced.

"Looking for your lost mojo?" River added.

"Wow!" Lightning was finally able to speak. "You don't mince words around here, do you?"

Smokey chuckled. "Truth is always quicker, kid."

Everyone made the necessary introductions and exchanged greetings before Sammy turned to Fudge. "Let me get you a chair." She got up from where she was sat between Smokey and Cruz.

"No, no. That's okay", Fudge assured her. "I can stand."

"Don't be an idiot!" Her sister left in search of a chair. When she found one and was coming back, she added, "You were almost beaten to a pulp last night. You're not standing around."

Fudge gave a little laugh as she sat down, her chair having been placed between Lightning and Louise. She was embarrassed about her demolition derby debut being made public. "Okay! Might as well get comfortable if we're gonna talk!"

"Yeah." Smokey nodded with a grin. "We'll get you all some drinks and then I'm sure you'll wanna hear lots of stories about Hud!"

"Oh, yeah!" Sammy laughed. "I still have plenty more that I've never told you, Fudge!"

"We can _all_ fill you in!" Louise added.

The sixteen-year-old grinned. "Awesome!" She loved hearing her half-sister tell hilarious stories about the Fabulous Hudson Hornet that were handed down to her from the Legends. It seemed like he was a lot more immature back in the day because Fudge couldn't imagine _Doc_ doing the things Sammy described.

"Don't start without me!" Sammy requested. "I'll get the drinks! What does everyone want?"

Nearly everyone had alcohol, even Cruz, who said she normally didn't drink. Underage Fudge had a _diet_ Coke (her fathers insisted), as did Sammy. Nobody knew why Sammy did, though.

"Where should we start?" Smokey quizzed the others.

"How about the time Hud went tractor tippin'?" River suggested.

Lightning was astonished and amused. "_Tractor tipping_?! You're kidding me!" He couldn't believe that. After all the times Doc got on his case about tractor tipping. "That does _not_ sound like Doc at all!"

"Trust me, if you knew him like we did, then it would!" Smokey laughed.

* * *

Although the night wore on, the eight in their own booth at the back of the bar lost track of time. Luigi and Guido watched Sweet Tea, the singer, while Lightning, Cruz, Fudge, Sammy, Smokey, Junior, River and Louise talked and laughed, drinking, telling stories about Doc or Hud, depending on what each of them called him. Fudge, however, did more listening than talking. The shy teen kept her head down most of the time, laughing at the stories she was told. She only spoke on occasion, often amid nervous giggles, and it was clear that she was trying way too hard to get the Legends to like her.

"Lou won't admit this", River informed the three newcomers, "but she used to have _serious_ eyes for Hud!"

Based on the embarrassed look on Louise's face, they could see that it was true.

"Oh, ho, ho!" Lightning laughed. "_Really_?"

"Even if I did, it wouldn't have mattered", Louise insisted. "Hud didn't like fast women. And that left _me_ out", she added with a wink at River, to which Smokey and the Legends laughed as if this was some kind of inside joke.

"But ol' Lou wasn't just fast", River went on. "She was fearless."

"The second I saw my first race, I just _knew_ I had to get in there", Louise explained. "'Course the fellas in charge didn't like the idea of a _lady_ racer showin' 'em up. So, they wouldn't let me have a number."

Cruz gasped. "What did you _do_?"

"I _stole_ one!"

Lightning, Cruz and Fudge were stunned, but they were most definitely impressed too.

"_What_?!" Lightning exclaimed.

Fudge's eyes widened. Right then and there, she wished she could be as cool and confident as Louise, but she knew that that would never happen.

"Wow!" Cruz added.

"Life's too short to take no for an answer, right, River?"

"If we had waited for an invitation, we might have never raced", River agreed.

"And once we got on the track", Louise continued, "we didn't wanna leave."

"I think that's how Doc felt too", Lightning commented.

"What with his career being cut short and all." Fudge nodded, saying it like she was trying to sound intelligent. She stirred her ice around her glass with a straw.

"You should've seen him when he first came to town!" River proclaimed. "Shiny blue paint. Not just the Hudson Hornet. He was already calling himself..."

"The _Fabulous_ Hudson Hornet!" Smokey, Junior, River and Louise shouted together before cheering and laughing.

"Wait. So, _he_ started calling _himself_ the Fabulous Hudson Hornet _before_ he started racing?!" Fudge spoke up incredulously. She'd always been under the assumption he'd earned the nickname after winning a couple of races.

River nodded. "That's right."

"Geez, Doc!" the human girl groaned with a laugh, trying to be funny. "Narcissistic, much?"

The others laughed and Fudge gave a nervous smile. It was working!

"Wow! And he said _I_ was arrogant!" Lightning exclaimed, remembering that was one of the things that Doc had hated about him.

That made everyone laugh even more.

"Well, you _were_ both quite the arrogant, hotshot rookies", Sammy pointed out. "It probably annoyed him _because_ you were so much like him. Now, you're experiencing the same thing with Jackson Storm. I guess that's just the way of things."

"Isn't that the truth?" Lightning muttered.

"The Fabulous Hudson Hornet", Louise repeated. "Oh, did we ever ride him on that."

"Not for long", Junior added.

"Hud was the fastest racer this side of the Mississippi", River declared.

"Until he wasn't", Smokey chimed in.

For the first time all night, a brief silence reigned over the group.

"What?" Lightning asked finally.

"Everything changed when the rookie showed up", Smokey explained.

"You're gonna love this!" Sammy informed the trio of newcomers.

* * *

Sensing another story coming up, Fudge made herself comfortable as Smokey described a typical race back in the fifties. The four who hadn't been there could easily picture it.

"Took Hud all of no time to work his way through the best racers in both Carolinas", Smokey told them. "Past River, past Lou, even Junior. But there was still the rookie to deal with. Pretty soon, they were side by side and the rookie wasn't having it. He tried slamming him into the wall. But Hud never touched _any_ wall unless he wanted to."

"What did he do?" Lightning wondered.

"What do you _think_ he did? He pushed off the wall and flipped over the rookie. Shot past him and won first place."

"How did you _miss_ that?!" Sammy questioned and Lightning wasn't sure if she was kidding or serious.

"I don't think I'd ever been more proud of him. He knew if he couldn't outrace the rookie, he'd have to outthink him. That rookie never saw _anything_ like that before."

"Doc _did_ that?!" Cruz exclaimed in disbelief.

"Whoa!" Lightning cried. "Are you kidding?!"

"Couldn't wipe the smile off his face for a week after that!" That was Louise.

"It would've been pretty awesome to see!" Sammy sighed, shaking her head.

"Yeah..." Fudge agreed. "Well, that _was_ back when he was cool!" she joked, making another effort to be funny.

"You don't think _Doc Hudson's_ cool?" Cruz asked in mock disbelief.

"Nope." Fudge shook her head, giggling.

All of a sudden, she sighed sadly, fighting back tears.

Sammy came over and put her arm around her sister. "You really miss him, don't you?"

Fudge sighed again. "Yeah."

Just like that, Lightning was depressed again. "Me too... I wish I could've seen him like that."

"Like what?" Smokey questioned.

"So happy."

After a pause, Smokey looked to Sammy and the Legends. "Do you mind stayin' here with Fudge and Cruz? I think McQueen and I need to talk."

"Fine with me", all four of them responded in unison.

Then the Hudson pickup truck turned to Lightning, Cruz and Fudge. "You all okay with that?"

"Sure", the three of them replied.

Without a word, Smokey gestured for Lightning to follow him out of the bar, which he did uncertainly.

As soon as they were gone, Fudge grinned at her sister and her older friends. "So, now that Smokey's gone, do you guys have any stories about _him_?"

**I know Herman is a little weird, but I created him for a crack fic and I liked him so much that he found his way into this story! XD He will appear a little more as the story progresses.**

**And I had to make Fudge fangirl over the Legends a little bit. I tried to think about what I'd be like in that kind of situation and went from there.**

**So, please review!**


	26. Best Part of Hud's Life

**I'm back with two brand new chapters, everyone! This first one is pretty short and most of it follows what's in the movie. I didn't think Fudge should be in the main scene in this chapter (she does appear in the chapter, though), but I felt like it was too important to leave out. So, I decided to upload two just this once! Enjoy.**

**Chapter 26- Best Part of Hud's Life**

"You didn't come all this way for a quart of oil, did you?" Smokey asked once they were outside the bar, even though he knew the answer.

"I need your help, Smokey", Lightning informed him.

"Yeah? What kind of help?"

They came to a stop and Lightning turned around to face him. "That's just it. I... I'm not sure", he admitted. "All I know is if I lose in Florida... it's over for me. What happened to Doc will happen to me."

"Well, what _did_ happen to him?" Smokey quizzed the race car.

"You know, racing was the... best part of his life and when it ended, he..." Lightning trailed off. "Oh, we both know he was never the same after that."

Smokey looked at him. "Is that what you think?"

Lightning didn't answer.

"Come on." The older truck was beginning to drive off. "I wanna show you something."

Lightning followed Smokey over to his garage, which was advertised as the "Best Dang Garage in Town". The drive was short and the road was quiet. Nobody was around, except for Herman, who was by the side of the road, munching on some vegetation. He looked their way curiously, but didn't move and didn't make any noise.

"You got the first part right", Smokey explained. "The crash broke Hud's body and the no more racing broke his heart. He cut himself off, disappeared to Radiator Springs. Son of a gun didn't talk to me for fifty years. But then one day, the letters started comin' in..." They arrived at Smokey's garage and the owner rolled up the door.

When Lightning saw what was inside, he was instantly overwhelmed. There were letters, photos and newspaper clippings about him everywhere, filling up an entire wall. There were photos of him at racetracks and even Willy's Butte. Some of them depicted Fudge up on Lightning's roof.

"And every last one of them was about you", Smokey finished. After Lightning had stared at the wall in silence, the pickup truck continued. "Yeah. Hud loved racing. But coaching _you_?" After a pause, he added, glancing at one of the Willy's Butte photos, "And I guess Fudge, to some extent." He sighed. "I'd never seen the old grump so happy. Racin' wasn't the best part of Hud's life. _You_ were."

With those words, Smokey, sensing that McQueen needed to be alone, slipped out quietly. The stock car didn't even notice.

* * *

One particular photo- one of Doc up on the crew chief platform with Lightning beneath it- caught Lightning's attention and a flood of memories came rushing back to the race car. He could easily picture Willy's Butte and hear Doc's gravelly voice.

"_You ready to blow out a little carbon there, boy?"_ Doc quizzed him.

"_Yes I am!" _

The next memory consisted of him crashing into a ravine full of cacti near the dirt track, screaming.

Of course, Doc had been unable to resist having a laugh at his expense.

"_Give it too much throttle, you in the tulips!_" he called, laughing.

His next memory shifted away from the dirt track and took him to Doc's garage where he'd spend many hours watching old films of Doc's old races.

"_Hey, Lightnin'_!" Doc had called out one day while the younger racer was doing just that. "_You might wanna take notes on this one!"_

Lightning laughed at the sight of Doc balancing several items, including a fire extinguisher and a tyre on his hood. When it all collapsed, with the tyre still hanging on his grille, Doc joined in with the laughter.

The next memory that came to mind was racing by Willy's Butte. Lightning remembered exactly when it was: Fudge's tenth birthday. Fudge was on Doc's roof and her tenth birthday was the only day Doc let Fudge race with him. He remembered catching up to Doc after exiting the quarter pipe. As he shot past, he could hear Doc and Fudge's laughter behind him.

* * *

Now, gazing up at that photo of him and Doc on the wall in Smokey's garage, Lightning could hear Doc's voice echo the words he'd heard used so many times, the first time being after the 2006 tiebreaker race.

"_You got a lot of stuff, kid._"

Lightning was beginning to get really emotional. There had been countless times since his mentor's passing that he could feel his presence close by such as while he was racing (both on asphalt and by Willy's Butte); during Fudge's recovery from the accident; when he'd come to him in a dream to show him where Fudge was when she went missing; even a couple of hours ago, arriving in Thomasville. However, none of them came _close_ to how strong he was feeling Doc's presence here in Smokey's garage. He hadn't even been there five minutes and he was so drawn to the place. He never wanted to leave.

When he was finally able to force himself out of the garage after a long time, McQueen found not only Smokey but Fudge waiting for him. She'd even thrown on a denim jacket since he'd last seen her.

"Wh- What are you doing here?" he stammered, looking to his sister. It was hard for him to speak when he was so overwhelmed. "Shouldn't you be inside with the others?"

"I was just grabbing my stuff from the trailer 'cause Sammy insisted that I stay with her and I ran into Smokey. He told me what he was showing you and I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Racing wasn't the best part of Doc's life!" Lightning blurted out. "_I_ was!" He shook his hood in disbelief. "He never told me. How come he never told me?"

"I'm sure he did", Fudge assured him. "He's told you in a million different ways."

Lightning gave her a warm smile, but Fudge's words made him want to cry even more. The human girl gave him a hug and as he hugged her back, Lightning couldn't help letting some tears escape. He was crying out of some happiness at hearing that he was the best part of Doc's life, sadness over how much he missed Doc and just a lot of high emotions from the sights he'd just seen. Fudge just hugged him and let him cry, completely unsure of what to say. Smokey just reversed back to give the two space and watched them in silence.

Lightning only let himself cry for a couple of minutes before calming down. It wasn't until he had done so that Smokey spoke again.

"Hud saw somethin' in you that you don't even see in yourself", he informed Lightning. "Are you ready to go find it?"

Lightning's face hardened into a look of determination. "Yes, sir."

"Follow me", Smokey ordered, heading towards the dirt track.

"Fudge!" a familiar voice called out. Cruz appeared, coming from the Cotter Pin. "Where've you been?"

"Long story", the sixteen-year-old replied, not sure if she should tell Cruz.

"Where are you going now?"

"To the track", Smokey responded. "Come with us if you want."

"Okay..." Although Cruz _sounded_ unsure, she looked quite eager to follow.

Smokey led the way to the dirt track and switched on the stadium lights.

"Now, I want you to do a couple of laps as fast as you can", he instructed Lightning.

"Now?"

"Yes. Now."

Lightning shot off, leaving the other three behind. He did a couple of laps before Smokey called out, "All right, all right! Bring it back!"

The race car obeyed and re-joined Smokey, Cruz and Fudge.

"Lesson one", Smokey, not one to beat around the bush, began. "You're old. Accept it."

"I told him that!" Cruz proclaimed proudly.

"He's probably losing his hearing", Smokey informed her.

"He says you're old and los-" Cruz started in a loud voice.

"I heard him", Lightning cut her off in a deadpan while Fudge giggled.

"You'll never be as fast as Storm", Smokey went on, "but you can be smarter than him."

"Okay", Lightning agreed. "What do I do?"

Smokey drove around the race car, looking him up and down. "They said you were in a demolition derby."

"Yeah! It was _terrible_! And I almost-"

"You sure?" the pickup truck interrupted him. "'Cause there's not a scratch on you."

McQueen looked over his body and saw that Smokey was right.

"Funny what a racer can do when he's not overthinking things."

"Wait. So, you want me to be smarter, but also think less?" Lightning was puzzled.

"You're all _horizontal_", Fudge informed him, giggling as she waved her arm up and down, "and you need to be more _vertical_." She waved her arm from side to side. (_Friends_ reference!)

Smokey nodded, ignoring Fudge. "That's right." Seeing how confused the race car in front of him was, he added, "I'll show you what I mean in the morning. Why don't you get some rest? We got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

**As usual, I hope you enjoyed and will leave a review before moving on to the next one. Thanks in advance!**


	27. Old School Training

**Chapter two of two for today! :)**

**Chapter 27- Old School Training**

The following morning, just as the sun was rising over Thomasville, Fudge was still asleep in RJ's old room, dreaming that she was living in a floating city, surrounded by flying cars. They would flap their wings and honk their horns at her. However, she began to feel uneasy when she got the feeling that someone was watching her. Quickly, she snapped her eyes open to find Herman in front of her, honking and flapping his wings. She yelped in surprise and fell out of bed. Still, Herman didn't back off.

"Help! He can sense my fear!" the human girl yelled.

Thankfully, Sammy came rushing in at that moment. She wasn't dressed yet either.

"Herman! At least let my sister wake up before you say hello!" Sammy laughed, scooping the goose up and smiling at Fudge apologetically. "Sorry about that. Herman can be a little suspicious of strangers. He just cares about Thomasville and its people, that's all. Give it a couple more days and he'll realise you're a friend."

"That's okay. Geese just freak me out", Fudge explained as Sammy helped her to her feet. "They always have."

Herman appeared to give Fudge the evil eye as if he understood what she just said.

"Oh, my God!" Fudge exclaimed. "He looks like he's staring into my soul!"

"Are you all right?" Sammy wondered, muffling a laugh.

"Yeah, I'll still take waking up to _that_ over a reveille and Jimi Hendrix any day!"

Her sister laughed. She'd been to Radiator Springs before and so, she knew what Fudge was talking about.

"What's he doing here?" the teenager wondered.

"He just peruses the town", Sammy explained. "Thomasville is a place where you can keep your doors open at night, so he occasionally shows up in people's homes."

"I could've been killed, I hope you know", Fudge informed her.

"Oh, _no_!" Sammy protested. "Herman is just precious! He wouldn't kill anyone, would you, Herman? But if it bothers you that much, I'll make sure to keep the door locked tonight." She petted the goose before giving Fudge a dark green mechanic jumpsuit with the Smokey's Best Dang Garage in Town logo on the front pocket. "Well, we better get dressed. We got a busy day ahead of us."

* * *

When they met up with Lightning, they could see that he was more determined than before to get to work. Although Thomasville didn't exactly have the latest technology, there was still a TV, so the fact that Jackson Storm had clocked two hundred and fourteen miles an hour on the track failed to escape Lightning's attention.

"Okay. Maybe I'm not gonna be faster than Storm like Smokey said", he informed anybody who was listening, "but I still need to get smarter than him."

"All right", Smokey began, "we got one thing we need to before we get started."

"What?" Lightning asked. While he highly doubted that would be Smokey's training method, he immediately had flashbacks to naps and being suspended on seesaw-like contraptions.

"Actually..." Smokey looked past the 95 racer and was looking at a certain yellow car. "It's not you. It's her."

Cruz was surprised. "Me?"

"I got somethin' in mind for you", Smokey informed her.

* * *

It took the combined efforts of Luigi, Guido, Fudge and Sammy (the two humans both wearing their green Smokey's Garage jumpsuits) to get Cruz ready, but everyone was happy with the end result. She'd been outfitted with a new spoiler and racing tyres in exchange for having her muffler removed. In addition, she had the word STORM duct taped to her rear bumper and the number 2.0 duct taped to each of her sides.

"Who's the racer?" Sammy questioned, hoping that Cruz would feel more confident.

"You wanna beat Storm, you need someone to stand in for him", Smokey explained to Lightning. "Like a sparring partner."

"I'm not so sure!" Cruz piped up. "Not a racer! Just a trainer!"

"You can do this, Cruz!" Fudge assured her. "Like how you learned to drift, remember?"

"And remember what we talked about last night", Louise added.

* * *

While Lightning and Smokey were gone, Fudge and Cruz had remained talking to Sammy and the Legends. At one point, each of them had opened up about their doubts about being racers. Cruz recounted the story of how she didn't take her one shot.

"It's not that I don't _want_ to race because I love it", Fudge had added, "but after the accident, I _am_ kind of scared." She sighed. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I'm not allowed to race after that." She sighed again, looking at the Legends. "I wish I had your confidence."

"If you two really wanna race, you shouldn't let anything stand in your way", River had told them. "You think _we_ did? Did you not _hear_ what Lou did to race?"

"Guess you guys are just more confident and badass than we are", Fudge had commented.

"You know, I was so scared when I started... my career too", Sammy added. "But I had the help of an incredible mentor and soon, I found I loved it _and_ I was good at it."

"What do you do?" Cruz asked.

"Well, I used to be in insurance", she lied (that was her cover story for being a spy), "but I recently gave that up. Now, I'm training to be a mechanic." She glanced down at her outfit. "As you can see."

"Maybe we _should_ try to do something", Fudge had suggested to her best friend. "You know, if I ever get the chance..."

"Why should you wait for your chance?" Louise had questioned. "If you want it, you do it!"

"You're right..." Fudge had realised, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

"Come on!" Sammy insisted, putting an arm around Fudge. "You're a very talented rider, Fudgsicle. Who cares what McQueen says?"

"Well, he does have a good reason", Fudge pointed out.

"_He's_ still gonna race after his crash!" her sister countered. She looked over at Cruz. "And you, Cruz. Granted I haven't seen you race that much, but you seemed pretty good."

"You really think so?"

"Yep. And you seem passionate about racing. Both of you are. If either of you get a chance to prove yourselves, take it."

* * *

Now, as Cruz stood before them in Smokey's garage, with her spoiler and racing tyres, doubt began to creep into her mind, despite the Legends and Sammy's advice echoing in her mind.

"I really don't think-" she began to protest again.

"Go ahead and gun it!" Smokey ordered, cutting her off.

Cruz obeyed, revving her engine. Fudge's hands flew to her ears as she had not been expecting such a loud noise so sudden and so close. It was so loud, in fact, that everything around them shook; even a couple of items fell down. Herman flapped his wings, clearly upset by the loud noise. Everyone was impressed, especially Cruz herself.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed. "Yeah!"

"With no muffler, you even _sound_ like Storm!" Smokey declared.

"Oh, you're going _down_, McQueen!" Cruz vowed. Then she shouted, "Get that arthritis-riddled keister onto the track, so I can put you into the old folks' home against your will!"

Everyone stared at her in shock.

"How was that?" Cruz asked in her normal voice.

"That'll work", Lightning responded.

"Worked for me", Louise added.

"I... I'm good", River stammered.

"Yep. That'll do", Junior chimed in.

"Did you hear what she said?" River quizzed the others.

* * *

Down at the track, Smokey made Cruz take Storm's place in pole position while Lightning stood several feet away. Guido was the flag bearer, stood on top of the platform where Fudge had watched Cruz and Lightning race the day before. Fudge herself joined Smokey, Sammy, Herman and the Legends in the infield.

"You didn't show up in Florida for qualifying!" Smokey reminded Lightning. "So, you'll be startin' dead last. I'll give you three laps to catch her!"

"Go through the _entire_ field in _three laps_?" Lightning repeated incredulously. It couldn't be done. It just couldn't.

"Do you wanna beat Storm or not?"

"Yes! Of course I do!"

"Well, then, _go_!"

Both Cruz and Lightning revved their engines and shot off.

"Come on now!" Smokey murmured to himself.

"Go, Lightning!" Fudge hollered.

Unfortunately, Lightning tried his hardest, but he just couldn't catch up to Cruz. As Guido waved the checkered flag, Cruz crossed the finish line way ahead of him.

"All right! Looks like we got some work to do!" Smokey announced.

"You're telling _me_!" Lightning sighed.

"Well, I think that's enough laps for now. I got somethin' else in mind for now."

* * *

Although it wasn't as ridiculous and outlandish as some of the things Cruz had made him do, the next thing Smokey had in mind took Lightning and Cruz by surprise. Smokey had brought out two long flatbed trailers.

"Holy _crap_!" Fudge exclaimed at the sheer size of them.

"What do you want us to do with _those_?" Cruz questioned, dreading the answer.

"I want each of you to tow one trailer with us on top from _this_ tyre-" He gestured to a tyre he dropped directly in front of them before driving off up some hills to drop another one _way_ in the distance. "-to _this_ one."

Lightning and Cruz's jaws dropped. The other tyre was so far away that they could barely see it. It was just a dot on the horizon.

"You gotta be _kidding_ me!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Not kidding! Let's go!"

It required some discussion as to who would go on which trailer. Factors such as making the weight of each trailer as even as possible and Fudge's refusal to go with Herman were considered. Finally, it was agreed that Lightning would tow a trailer with Smokey, Junior, Luigi and Fudge on top while Cruz would be hauling Louise, River, Sammy, Guido and Herman.

"Let's go for a ride!" Fudge cried gleefully once everyone was in position. Everyone was on board their respective trailers and Cruz and Lightning were lined up at the start.

"All right!" Smokey barked. "Go!"

Only they didn't go. Lightning and Cruz tried and tried with all their might to get the trailers to move, but they just couldn't do it.

"Come on now!" Smokey would yell at them. "Come on now! Pick it up!"

"Let's move!" Junior called out.

"Yeah. Let's go!" Fudge hollered. "This is the worst ride ever! I want my money back!"

Luigi grabbed his daughter's arm to get her attention and when she looked at him, he shook his hood at her with a frown. Angry and ashamed of herself, Fudge shut up.

"You ain't gonna pass Storm movin' like that!" Smokey pointed out after about half an hour of absolutely nothing.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we won't be tugging massive trailers in the race!" Lightning retorted.

"I can't move this thing!" Cruz groaned.

So, that was the end of that.

* * *

Still, Smokey wasn't giving up on plans to train Lightning. He had another idea, for which he required the help of Guido and Fudge. He wanted them to load up his truck bed with bales of hay and climb on board.

"We're goin' for a little drive!" the pickup truck announced.

He instructed Lightning to follow. "Not too close, but not too far behind!"

Lightning had no idea what was going on until they were out of the town.

"Look alive!" Smokey called out. "Reflexes are the first thing to go!"

Without warning, Fudge and Guido started tossing hay bales the race car's way. Lightning yelped in surprise as every single one hit him in the face. Even Fudge who had terrible hand-eye coordination managed to hit him with all of hers. The human girl couldn't help laughing as Lightning screamed every time a hay bale hit him.

Smokey, on the other tyre, was not amused. "Looks like we gotta work on your reflexes too."

* * *

The next exercise didn't go much better. Confusion took over Lightning and Cruz from the very start. They were in a pasture, surrounded by tractors, mooing lazily.

"Why are we in a field?" Lightning wondered.

"Ah, the times I've asked myself that very same question after a big night", Sammy commented.

The only other answer they got was Smokey locking them in and shouting, "Sneak through that window!"

"What does that mean?" Cruz demanded.

"I don't know!" Lightning was just as clueless as she was.

"Go!" Smokey honked his horn, startling the tractors into moving, all mooing loudly. The two of them were caught in the middle of a stampede! They screamed as they started driving.

"Whoa!" Lightning exclaimed as two tractors merged closer together directly in front of him, forcing him to slow down.

"Not cool, man!" Cruz cried as she and Lightning struggled through the chaos. "Not cool!"

Fudge, who was stood beside Smokey (he'd initially wanted her to race with them, but Lightning had put his tyre down firmly), laughed at their misfortune until Smokey turned to her.

"Help 'em, Fudge!" he instructed her. "You're the crew chief! Watch what's goin' on! Help 'em sneak through the window!"

However, Fudge had about as much of an idea on what "sneak through the window" meant as Lightning and Cruz. She stammered for a couple of seconds before calling out things like, "Look out for that tractor!" or, "Lightning! A tractor's chasing you!"

Based on the look on Smokey's face, that wasn't what he wanted.

The sixteen-year-old turned to Sammy. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

She nodded and grinned. "I do."

"Tell me!"

Unfortunately, Sammy shook her head. "No way, kiddo."

"This ain't a math test!" Fudge protested. "Come on! You can tell me!"

"Nope. That's for you, McQueen and Cruz to figure out."

"This is hopeless!" Fudge groaned to herself.

* * *

That wasn't the only training method Smokey had for Fudge. In fact, he had one just for her.

"A good crew chief knows the track as well as the racer!" he explained as he had her stand in the middle of the dirt track. "If you're gonna be a crew chief, you gotta help your racer navigate the track in the best way possible. I want you to walk side to side, back and forth all the way around the track. See everything, feel everything, _know_ everything! Got it?"

"I think so." The sixteen-year-old understood what he was saying. She just wasn't sure if she could _do_ it. She wanted to remind Smokey that she wouldn't be allowed on the track at the races, but the words wouldn't come.

Tentatively, she walked around the track, moving back and forth, side to side, taking note of everything she could see, feel and even hear. There was mostly just dirt and gravel. The oddest thing was a bit of watermelon near the third turn. Fudge wasn't sure why it was there, but then again, she didn't know what "sneak through the window" meant either.

When she was finished, she was completely caught off guard by Smokey's next instructions.

"Do you think you know the track?" he quizzed her.

"Uh..." Fudge was unsure of how to reply.

"I hope so", Smokey continued. "'Cause now you're doin' it blindfolded."

"Oh, no..." Fudge groaned as Smokey handed her a blindfold. Reluctantly, she put the blindfold on over her glasses. "I... I don't know if I'm ready for this!"

Unfortunately, her protests were ignored as Smokey yelled, "Go!"

Even more tentatively than before, Fudge set off. As she moved around the track in all directions again, she was swaying a lot more than she had the first time and was beginning to feel dizzy. Still, she tried to stumble across the track, trying to take everything in. Everything was fine for about thirty seconds until Fudge stumbled over a rock.

"_Owww_!" she moaned as a stinging pain started in her arm.

However, Fudge knew that Smokey wouldn't want her to just lie there. She felt like part of the exercise was about resilience. She staggered to her feet and continued to make her way around the track. Then, things got even worse as she attempted to round a corner too early. Instead of going around a corner, she toppled over the boundary of the track and fell over into the infield.

"Dammit!" Fudge groaned as she struggled to find her way back onto the track, trying to climb back over the boundary.

Of course, trying to get over it resulted in her doing a perfect face plant.

"Dammit!" the human girl repeated.

"Come on!" Smokey called out. "Let's move!"

So, even though she'd lost her sense of direction and had a lot of pain in her body, Fudge had no choice but to keep going. Things went without any serious incident until they got to the third turn. The strong smell of watermelon swept over her. Fudge liked the _smell_ of watermelon, but hated the taste as she did with most fruit. As soon as she smelt the large fruit, she walked from side to side, trying to find a position where the smell wasn't as strong. Once she found it, she kept moving forward. One step, two steps, three st-

Fudge jumped right out of her skin as she heard a series of loud honks and the flap of wings, which could only be one Herman. She screamed.

"Even when you know the track, unexpected things can happen!" Smokey called out. "When things go wrong, you gotta adapt! That's just as important for the crew chief as the racer!"

Fudge was only half-listening. "Get that goose away from me!" she whimpered, backing up as quickly as she could, but she knew that Herman was chasing her. "I can't run!"

However, as she tried to run at the very slow speed that she could, Fudge slipped on a piece of watermelon. She fell right over and landed splat in a pile of watermelon! She had watermelon in her hair, watermelon on her clothes and watermelon on her face and arms!

As if things weren't already bad enough, Fudge heard laughter ring out and it wasn't just Smokey's. Fudge removed her blindfold to find that she had an audience, consisting of everyone: Smokey, Lightning, Cruz, Luigi, Guido, Sammy, Junior, River, Louise and Herman. All of them were laughing hysterically; even Herman's honks sounded like laughter. Fudge felt her face go red. She couldn't believe that she'd just utterly humiliated herself like this- and in front of some of the biggest legends of the sport, no less!

The two things she felt like doing- crying and yelling at everyone to shut up- would have only made it worse. Realising she must have looked ridiculous lying there in the midst of all of the watermelon, she got to her feet and wiped bits of fruit off of her angrily. She was still covered in juice, though.

"**IT'S NOT FUNNY!**" she yelled at the crowd, sounding close to tears.

"Now, that's not true!" Sammy responded with a laugh. She doubled over, clutching her stomach. "I'm just sorry I didn't record that!"

"Are you all right?" Cruz questioned, concerned, though she was still laughing.

"Herman nearly killed me!" Fudge bit her lip to prevent herself from crying and save herself from further embarrassment.

Smokey rolled his eyes. "He didn't nearly kill you."

"He just loves his watermelon, don't you, Herman?" Louise added.

The human girl stood in silence for a moment, still willing herself not to cry.

"I need a shower!" Fudge huffed, tearing off as fast as she could with her bad knees and lung, storming back to her sister's house.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Smokey wondered.

"She will be fine", Luigi assured them. "She is just a little sensitive."

"I think her pride is hurt more than anything", Lightning added. After a pause, he kept going. "I... I'm gonna make sure she's okay."

* * *

When he got there, Fudge was in the bathroom with the doors closed and the water was running.

The stock car knocked on the door. "Fudge?" he ventured. "You all right?"

"I _hate_ that goose!" the sixteen-year-old answered with tears stinging in her eyes and a painful lump in her throat. She wasn't crying, but she was close. She stepped out of the water to lather her hair in shampoo. "The Evil Goose of Thomasville! He's one of Satan's minions! That was _so_ _embarrassing_!"

"I know, but you'll be able to laugh about it one day."

"Maybe", Fudge agreed, "but today is not that day!"

Lightning sighed before continuing to speak in a depressed tone. "Well, I'm not gonna dress it up. Today didn't go well."

"No", Fudge agreed, sounding equally depressed. She stepped back into the running water to wash the shampoo out of her hair. "If there's one thing I've learned today, it's that I suck! This stupid water!" she exclaimed abruptly. "I always either freeze or burn! There's no in-between."

"I just don't see how I'm gonna be ready in time for this race. It's only in a couple of days."

"I know. What are we gonna do?"

"Well, I'm all out of ideas, so I guess I just gotta keep going with this and hope for the best", Lightning sighed again.

"Yeah." Fudge let out a sigh of her own.

"Well, that, or get ready to sell mud flaps."

"No", Fudge countered. "It hasn't come to that yet."

* * *

Unfortunately, things didn't seem to be getting better the next day. Everyone was relieved to see that Fudge was a lot calmer in the morning and she was relieved Sammy had kept her promise and locked the doors the night before to keep Herman out. However, as she stood in the infield of the track with Sammy, Smokey, the Legends and Herman, she made a point to stand as far away from the goose as possible. Still, there were other problems. Like how Cruz was still beating Lightning in every single race. They spent hours running lap after lap, growing more and more concerned with each and every one of Lightning's attempts to beat Cruz. He would get closer and closer to catching her, but it still wasn't enough.

"Let's run it back!" Smokey called out after one run. "Do you even wanna be out here?!" he shouted after another while Fudge shouted, "Come on, Lightning! You got this!" as he got closer again to catching Cruz.

"Only two days left, kid!" Smokey reminded him. "You gotta work harder!"

Lightning grunted in frustration. This was the hardest he'd ever worked for a race. He was running out of time. He needed a miracle.

**The trailers are actually part of a lot of books I've read, including the official book of the film. You can even see it fully animated on YouTube, so I'll put that up on the Wattpad copy of this story.**

**And I thought the incident with Herman was pretty funny, even if Fudge didn't. (I Googled what geese like and it said watermelon, so...)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review!**


	28. Look Who Finally Showed Up

**I'm so glad you guys seem to like Herman; I was worried you'd think he was just weird. What do I have in store after the watermelon incident? Well, you'll find out in this chapter...**

**The story so**** far:**** It is a lovely day in Thomasville and Herman is a horrible goose!**

**Chapter 28- Look Who Finally Showed Up**

"I got somethin' I wanna show you", Smokey announced to a dejected Lightning that night. "I think this might help."

"I doubt that", Lightning mumbled. So far, nothing had been helping.

"You think so? Well, you won't know that unless you see it."

As Smokey, Lightning, Cruz, Fudge, Guido and Luigi headed round the side of Smokey's garage, they could see that a projector had been set up by Sammy and the Legends. Sammy had even made popcorn!

"This is one of Hud's old races. I want you to see this", Smokey informed Lightning. "Watch very closely."

Lightning nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Magic is about to happen", Fudge whispered as she made herself comfortable in a lawn chair and took a handful of popcorn.

The projector lit up the wall with an old film from the fifties. For the first couple of minutes, everyone was completely engaged in the film. Only Lightning couldn't figure out exactly what Smokey was trying to show him. Until, at one point, when Hud was so close to the rear bumper of the car in front of him that he was practically touching it, Smokey called out excitedly, "See that?"

"See what?"

"Hud was a master at letting the other cars do the work _for_ him", the pickup truck explained.

"He used to say, 'Cling to 'em'", River piped up, "'like you was two June bugs on a summer night.'"

"He stole that from _me_!" Junior chimed in.

"_Drafting_?!" Lightning questioned incredulously. "I've never had to do that."

"Yeah, that's when you were fast", Smokey reminded him bluntly. "Now, you're slow."

"And old!" River called out.

"And rickety", Louise put in.

"And dilapidated", Junior joined in.

"Aged, ancient, elderly, mature, fossil, senior, along in years, broken down, over the hill, senile-" Sammy and Fudge chanted together, reading from a thesaurus on the former's phone.

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Lightning shouted over the top of them as they laughed. Then he looked back at them questioningly. "_Senile_?"

"The new you has to look for opportunities you never knew were there", Smokey explained.

Not only did Lightning let those words sink in, but Fudge and Cruz did too, still engaged in the film. "Look for opportunities you never knew were there." Interesting words. Great advice.

* * *

Fudge was still thinking about them as she followed her half-sister back to the house until Herman showed up. Fudge had never really liked Herman, but ever since the watermelon incident, she made sure to avoid him like the plague. So, she hurried up the stairs to the front door as fast as she could (there were stairs and a ramp for the vehicles).

Sammy laughed. "I think what happened yesterday was a personal vendetta against you, Fudge. He hates being locked out", she remarked.

"But you're still gonna lock the door, right?" Fudge quizzed the rainbow-haired woman.

Another laugh came from Sammy. "Sure. I'll just feed him some dandelions to make up for it and then I'll lock the door."

"Dandelions?" Fudge repeated, puzzled.

Sammy nodded seriously. "Oh, yeah. He loves them. Watch this." She picked up some dandelions that were growing close to the house. "Herman!" she called out in a singsong voice. "Herman!"

Herman ran over to Sammy and began to eat the dandelions right out of her hand. He was one very happy goose. Fudge smiled at him. He looked so innocent now that he was happily eating one of his favourite treats. He even looked kind of cute.

"There. You're a happy boy now, aren't you, Herman?" Sammy petted him. "See? You're not so scary... How could anybody find _you_ scary, you beautiful boy?"

Fudge gave a soft chuckle.

"Here." Sammy gave some dandelions to Fudge. "You try."

"I don't know..."

"Come on. Just try it."

"Okay..." Uncertainly, Fudge held out her hand to the goose. "Herman."

"You gotta _show_ him the dandelions."

"Okay..." the sixteen-year-old repeated, opening up her hand.

Herman approached Fudge and, although all of her instinct told her to run, she stayed.

"Oh, my God! I am so close to death right now!"

"Show him what you've got", the twenty-seven-year-old woman reminded her.

"Herman!" Fudge called again, showing him the dandelions.

Like he'd done with Sammy, Herman munched happily on the dandelions Fudge had in her hand.

The human girl giggled. "It tickles!"

"Why don't you pet him?" her sister suggested.

"I don't know..." Fudge repeated.

"Come on. He likes being petted right here." Sammy demonstrated.

"Okay..." Hesitantly, Fudge put her hand on the goose. She was expecting him to start honking and attack her again. Yet he remained silent. He even looked quite content.

Sammy smiled, seemingly proud of herself. "See? Nothing in life is to be feared, but understood, especially not someone as sweet as Herman."

"I guess you're right", Fudge agreed, standing up and going inside.

Now, Fudge never knew it, but Sammy left the door unlocked that night. Not that the teenager would've minded, had she known. As crazy as it sounded, she thought that if she could amaze herself by petting that damn goose, then who knew what else she could amaze herself by doing? In fact, she'd be sure to pick some dandelions first thing in the morning. She had an idea.

* * *

"Ready, Guido?" Smokey quizzed the forklift the following morning.

"Okay!" he confirmed.

"Fudge? You ready?"

"I don't know..." She still wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing.

"McQueen! Cruz! You ready?"

"Uh..." came two uncertain replies as they glanced around at the tractors nearby.

"All right, Guido... _Now_!" Smokey ordered.

At Smokey's word, Guido opened up the gate to free the tractors. Once again, Lightning and Cruz were caught in the middle of them.

"Sneak through the window!" Smokey repeated.

Cruz moaned. She couldn't believe that they were doing this again!

"Help 'em, Fudge!" Smokey added. "Sneak through the window!"

"I don't know what that means!" Fudge had always found tasks a lot easier when she was given simple, specific instructions, but what Smokey was telling her was the polar opposite of specific.

However, Lightning finally understood what Smokey meant.

"Sneak through the window!" he exclaimed softly as he saw a gap appear between two tractors.

"What?" Cruz shouted, still having no idea what was going on.

"When a window opens, take it!" Lightning instructed her. Another opening appeared between two other tractors and he shot forward to fill the gap.

"_Oh_!" Fudge cried in comprehension. "Lightning! There's a window open to your right! Cruz, to your left!"

Lightning was weaving through the tractors smoothly. Cruz seemed a little unsure, but managed to follow. Fudge continued to guide them both as best as she could.

"Whoa!" Cruz shouted when an opening closed in on her abruptly.

"Come on, Cruz!" Fudge encouraged her best friend.

Meanwhile, Lightning had spotted another one in front of him. "_Yes_!" he hissed, gunning forward.

Then, out of nowhere, Cruz shot out in front of him.

"Whoa! I made it!" she cheered.

"All right!" Lightning congratulated her.

Whooping all the way, the two sneaked through the last window! They'd slalomed through all of the tractors and they were free!

"Yes!" Fudge squealed, happy for them.

"You got it!" Sammy congratulated them, giving Fudge a high-five.

"All right!" Smokey sounded impressed. "You did it! Now, go around and do it again!"

This time, Lightning and Cruz were happy to.

* * *

Even better, when Lightning returned to the hay bale exercise, he'd improved dramatically at that too. He managed to avoid the hay bales Guido and Fudge sent his way skilfully.

"Go! Let's move!" Smokey shouted as he drove Guido and Fudge. "Reflexes!"

"Yeah, Lightning!" Fudge cheered as she tossed another hay bale.

"All right, Guido! Turn up the heat!" Smokey ordered.

"Okay!" Guido responded.

Lightning was surprised that the next items Guido threw were not hay bales, but much larger, solid items! There was even a tyre and massive anchor, all of which he managed to avoid.

"Not bad!" Fudge called appreciatively.

"Thank you!"

* * *

Lightning wasn't the only one improving in his training either.

"Come on now!" Smokey called to the blindfolded Fudge, shuffling across the dirt track. "Know the track!"

Fudge tried to block his words out and focus solely on her counting. She had taken to counting all of the steps with each step forward being given a number and each step sideways being assigned a letter (so, for example, one step forward and one step sideways would be step 1A) and memorising where the things to avoid were.

"Pebble number one hundred and forty-three!" she cried, narrowly avoiding it. "Ah ha! You will not trip me up _again_, pebble number one hundred and forty-three!" She kept going, counting out loud, knowing that she was more likely to lose count if she counted in her head.

The only thing Fudge couldn't be sure of was where the watermelon would be, but that was okay. She was prepared for that. As soon as she smelt the fruit close by, she came to a stop, waiting for that inevitable honking sound. There it was.

"Hey, Herman!" the human girl called out, reaching into her pocket and pulling out some dandelions. "I got something for you!"

Immediately, Herman gave a loud honk and came running up to Fudge to eat the dandelions out of her hand.

"There you go, you dumb goose!"

Smokey laughed. This wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting when he'd tried to encourage Fudge to think on her feet and learn from previous mistakes, but he had to admit, it was both funny and impressive.

"You better watch out, Herman!" he called out. "She knows your weakness now!"

Fudge scattered the remaining dandelions on the ground, shuffled past the distracted goose to avoid both him and the watermelon and was on her way around again.

When she removed her blindfold, Fudge could see that she had an audience again. Lightning, Cruz, Luigi, Guido, Sammy, Junior, River and Louise were watching her. Over on the other side of the track, Herman had finished off his dandelions and was breaking into the watermelon. He was very happy, which made two of them, now that Fudge had conquered the Walk Across the Track Blindfolded Challenge.

"Better", Smokey congratulated her once she got her bearings back.

"Although, I wanted to see you end up in the watermelon again!" Sammy added with a laugh.

"Not today!" Fudge vowed.

"Oh, yeah?" Lightning came forward and began chasing her. Without warning, Sammy and Smokey joined in.

"No!" Fudge squealed, running away as fast as she could. "No! No fair! I can't run!"

All of a sudden, Lightning, Sammy and Smokey grabbed hold of her and tackled her to the ground on top of the watermelon!

None of them had laughed so hard in a long time. Fudge lay on the ground and when the others heard the muffled sounds coming from her, they all thought she was crying. However, when River and Junior helped her to her feet, they all realised that she was _laughing_! The sight of _her_ laughing made everyone else laugh even more. Although, she didn't just take it sitting down. She scooped up a chunk of watermelon and hurled it at an unsuspecting Lightning. He yelped in surprise.

"Guess you need to work on your reflexes some more!" she taunted, making everyone, especially Smokey, laugh even more.

"Oh, yeah?" Lightning picked up a chunk of watermelon of his own and threw it at Fudge, but some of it wound up over Smokey too.

Next, it was Smokey's turn to throw some watermelon at Lightning and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened from there. While Fudge, Lightning, Cruz, Luigi, Guido, Sammy, Smokey and the Legends were laughing hysterically, Herman did not look so amused.

* * *

Once everyone had been hosed off, it was time for the trailers again. Everyone climbed aboard the same trailers as the last time.

"Not this again!" Cruz groaned.

"All right!" Smokey yelled once everyone was in position. "**GO!**"

Lightning and Cruz grunted as they heaved the massive trailers. Last time, they'd been unable to move the trailers even an inch, but this time, they weren't exactly going at the speed of light, but they were keeping a steady pace as they each pulled the trailer forward.

"Dig for it!" Smokey on Lightning's trailer shouted. "Come on now! Show me somethin'! Keep goin'!"

"Reach for you lunch!" Cruz chanted to herself. "Reach for your lunch!"

"Hey! Come on, come on!" River called out from his spot on Cruz's trailer. "Let's go!"

"All right!" That was Louise, who was next to River.

"Faster, faster!" Fudge chimed in. She was sandwiched between Luigi and Junior on Lightning's trailer.

"You can go faster than _that_!" Sammy cried from beside Louise.

"Come on now!" Junior yelled. "Move it!"

"This is a better ride!" Fudge declared.

"Hold on!" Cruz shouted. "You'll never beat me, Mr. McQueen!"

Since Lightning was getting better at his training, it was obvious that the mood had improved amongst the group. The watermelon fight had allowed everyone to relax a little and now, everyone was cheering for Lightning and Cruz, laughing as they enjoyed the ride and just had fun. When Lightning and Cruz crossed the finish line, the cheering and honks (from both cars and goose!) grew even louder. It somehow made them all seem closer. Fudge and Junior, who'd barely said two words to each other, even high-fived.

* * *

By the time they got to another race, Lightning was full of confidence. When Smokey yelled, "Go!", he went like he'd never gone before. Everyone watched intently and Fudge called out tips she'd learned from her exercise with Smokey.

"It's a little rough once you get to turn three!" she called out. "You might wanna be careful of that. Oh! Watch out for pebble number one hundred and forty-three!"

Although he didn't _quite_ catch up to Cruz, it was the closest he'd ever gotten.

"All right!" Smokey yelled. "Look who finally showed up!"

* * *

"That was better", Lightning commented to Cruz and Fudge later that night. They were chilling out near the track, waiting for Smokey and the Legends to arrive. They had something new planned, but they wouldn't say what. While they waited, Fudge changed out of her wet, watermelon-stained jumpsuit and into her denim jacket, a racing T-shirt, jeans and black running shoes with blue and purple stripes. Then the three of them watched the stars. That was one of Fudge's favourite things to do back home and Thomasville also provided some remarkable views of the night sky. Not only were there a lot of stars, but a full moon gleaming as well.

"Yeah", Fudge agreed from her spot stretched out on Lightning's roof. "I really had fun today."

"So did I", Lightning agreed.

"Me too", Cruz chimed in. "I think that's the closest I've ever felt to being a real racer."

"You were great out there, Cruz", Fudge assured her.

"Thank you."

"Do you feel a little more ready for Florida now?" Fudge quizzed Lightning.

"I guess. I mean, I know I've gotten better. But, still, you never know."

"Guess not. That's what Smokey was trying to tell me when he unleashed Herman on me!"

"Well, you've conquered your fear", Lightning pointed out. "And you've learned to laugh at yourself a little. Very impressive."

Fudge blushed. "Thanks..."

"You know, I didn't know you were scared of geese, Fudge", Cruz mused.

"Terrified", she confirmed.

"You should've seen her when we took her to the farm!" Lightning informed Cruz, laughing.

"Not _that_ story!" Fudge groaned.

"Come on! You were only six and it has a better ending than you landing in fruit!" That story ended with Fudge escaping from an angry gaggle of geese and crying in Guido's arms.

"That doesn't mean Cruz has to hear it!"

Lightning proceeded to tell Cruz the story anyway. The two cars were laughing while the human covered herself with her denim jacket to hide her shame.

"It sounds like you were such a cute kid!" Cruz commented.

"She _was_ a cute kid!" Lightning agreed, giving Fudge a nuzzle. "She still is!"

She grinned. "Thanks."

At that moment, a shooting star streaked across the sky.

"Oh! A shooting star!" Fudge exclaimed. "Make a wish!"

The sixteen-year-old closed her eyes and did just that. _I wish Lightning could win the Florida_ _500! He doesn't want to stop racing just yet! Please, just let him win!_

Lightning wasn't sure if he should wish for the same thing. He had never really believed in the power of shooting stars and other ways to make a wish. Well, sure he had as a child, but never as an adult. He knew he wasn't going to win the race merely by wishing for it. Then again, he thought about Fudge. The doctors said that it was a miracle that she survived the accident. Who was to say miracles couldn't happen?

"I wish I could win the Florida 500", Lightning whispered to himself with his eyes closed. He doubted that a shooting star alone would cause it to happen, but that didn't matter. There was no harm in making the wish.

"It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" Fudge declared.

"Yeah", the other two agreed.

"I really like Thomasville", the human girl decided. "I can't wait to go to Florida and get back home, but at the same time, I don't wanna leave." It wasn't until that moment that she realised that this was their last night in Thomasville. "We'll have to come back some day."

"Well, your sister lives here, so you've got an excuse", Lightning pointed out.

"That's true."

"And Mr. McQueen, you can go with her", Cruz added. "I'm not sure I can, though."

"What do you mean?" Fudge wondered.

* * *

Before Cruz could answer, Smokey, Sammy and the Legends showed up.

"Hey, guys!" Lightning greeted them as Fudge slid off his roof.

"You ready?" Smokey quizzed them.

"For what?" Lightning wondered.

"We're goin' for a little drive."

"But first", Sammy piped up. "Fudge." She tossed a racing helmet, special goggles to go over Fudge's glasses to prevent them from falling off her face and magnets her sister's way. "Happy birthday."

"I mean, my birthday was eight months ago", Fudge teased as she strapped on the magnets, "but it's the thought that counts, I guess." She was excited, but nervous. Ever since the accident, she'd only been racing once with Cal when she was fourteen, against her family's wishes. She got caught and was in a _lot_ of trouble.

"Wait. Why does she need those?" Lightning demanded.

"I know how you feel about Fudge racin'", Smokey assured the stock car. During their time in Thomasville, he'd made it more than clear. "After what you and Sammy have told me about Fudge's accident, I don't blame you. I just think it's important that Fudge comes with us for this."

"Come on! We want Fudge there!" Sammy begged as she suited up in her own helmet and magnets. She climbed up onto River's roof. "Don't worry. She'll be perfectly safe."

"You promise?" Lightning seemed a little unsure, as did Fudge for that matter. Like she'd told her brother, she would want to get back into racing, should she ever be given the chance, but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid.

"We promise", all five of the Thomasville locals chorused.

The stock car still wasn't convinced, but gave in nonetheless.

"So, Fudge, do you wanna ride with me?" Junior offered. Sammy had suggested one of the Legends offer, knowing how much Fudge would love that.

"Sure! Let's go!" Fudge cried excitedly, trying and failing to play it cool as she leapt up onto Junior's roof.

"This is gonna be fun!" Sammy proclaimed.

With Smokey and the Legends leading the way, the group headed out of town for a drive.

* * *

Under the full moon, Smokey led them all into the woods.

"This is where we cut our racing teeth!" he explained.

"In the woods?" Lightning questioned sceptically.

River pulled up alongside the younger racer. "Let's just say the _moon_ was always _shining_ on us!" he attempted to clarify emphatically.

"Huh?" Lightning didn't get it.

Louise tried. "If the _moon_ didn't _shine_, we didn't have to..." Then she seemed to give up. "Oh, never mind."

"We ran moonshine, dummy!" Junior yelled from ahead of them.

"_Oh_!" Lightning understood finally.

"Moonshine?" Fudge repeated in astonishment. "You guys really _are_ bad asses!"

Sammy grinned at her from River's roof. "You don't know the half."

"And I'm not sure I want to."

"By the way", Smokey added, "no lights! Instinct only!"

"Wait!" Fudge cried. "You don't really mean-"

In answer to her question, one by one, Smokey and the Legends switched off their headlights, all whooping away.

"I thought you said I'd be safe!" Fudge protested. She was thrown all over the place as Junior picked up speed through the rough terrain. She was nervous enough to try racing again to begin with, but this just seemed like a suicide mission.

"Don't worry. We know what we're doin'", Junior assured her.

"You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure", he insisted.

"Whoo-hoo!" Sammy shouted.

Smokey and the Legends were tearing through the woods in total darkness, guided by nothing but the light of the moon and instinct. Lightning and Cruz had switched their lights off as well, but they weren't as sure as the others. Lightning screamed as he struggled and narrowly avoided smashing into a tree.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cruz yelled as she skidded into some bushes.

It took Lightning a little while- and several close calls with bushes and trees- to get the hang of it. However, finally, he found his rhythm.

"Yeah!" he yelled, beginning to enjoy the different kind of racing he was doing. For the first time in a long time, he found himself racing for the sheer fun of it.

Fudge had gotten used to this racing too and racing again in general. After a few times of thinking they'd hit trees, but they didn't, she'd learned to trust Junior and could see he knew what he was doing. This was the fastest she'd gone in years and she'd forgotten how much she'd missed it. She wasn't sure if Smokey wanted her to get into crew chief mode, but she couldn't. She was just smiling and laughing too hard as she found herself caught up in the sheer thrill of it, unable to speak, but occasionally, joining the others in whoops of pure delight. She felt like she was _flying_!

Back to Lightning, he was whooping and hollering gleefully. Nobody, not even he himself, noticed that as he brushed up against twigs and bushes, the electronic suit he got at the Rust-Eze Racing Centre was beginning to tear. He caught up to Cruz, who was also squealing and laughing with joy and having the time of her life. The two made their way deeper and deeper into the woods and Lightning's suit was tearing more and more. Finally, when Lightning jumped down a hill, the entire thing fell apart, revealing the paint job Ramone had given him before he left Radiator Springs. Still, he didn't notice and rocketed off after the Legends, who were surprised when he and Cruz caught up.

"Hey!" Louise cried as Fudge called, "Hi!", laughing hysterically and waving into the darkness when she saw her older brother.

"Whoo-hoo!" Lightning hollered.

* * *

"How was that?!" Lightning quizzed Fudge when they all met up on the edge of the woods at the end of their run.

Fudge pulled off her helmet and removed a loose strand of hair from her face. "That was _awesome_!" she exclaimed with pure glee and a huge grin on her face.

"I have never done anything like that before!" Cruz proclaimed. "That was awesome!"

"Yeah! Me neither!" Fudge slid down from Junior's roof.

"You don't get _that_ on a simulator!" Cruz went on.

"Nope", Sammy agreed. "The midnight run is one of a kind."

"Yeah! Take _that_, simulators!" Fudge cried jokingly. "Forget the trailers too! That was the best ride!"

"And Fudge is still in one piece", Smokey pointed out, looking at Lightning.

Lightning couldn't even laugh. He was reminded too much about Fudge's accident and had been very worried something would happen to her. So, he was almost relieved when Fudge questioned fearfully, "What was that?"

"What was what?" River asked.

"I thought I heard something", Fudge whispered and they all went silent, listening.

Cruz looked around, concerned. "Are there any bears in these woods?"

"Nope", Smokey assured her. "No bears around here."

"I don't care if there is. I'd take bears over geese any day", Fudge voiced her opinion. That made everyone laugh.

"So, do you know what happened to Fudge when Mr. McQueen took her to a farm to see geese?" Cruz asked Sammy, Smokey and the Legends.

"You mean when she ran crying into Guido's arms?" Smokey laughed with the others.

"Ha, ha!" Fudge taunted in a singsong voice, pointing at Cruz. "They already know it!" Then she looked back at the Legends, surprised and confused. "Wait. What?"

That just made everyone laugh even more.

Sammy grinned. "Who would've thought the great Fudge Rossi-Topolino was scared of geese?"

"Hey! What happened to your suit?" Cruz wondered abruptly, looking at Lightning.

The surprised 95 racer looked over his body to see it was gone. "Huh!"

"Guess that means Mr. Sterling won't be able to keep tabs on you anymore", Cruz commented.

"I guess so." Though he didn't sound so upset.

As the group of eight went their separate ways that night, all of them felt empowered and excited by what had happened that day. If Fudge could win Herman over and Lightning could get so close to beating Cruz _and_ let Fudge try her hand at racing again, then anything was possible. Preparing to sleep on her last night of her first trip to Thomasville, Fudge's mind travelled back to flying through the woods on Junior's roof under the moonlight. It got her thinking maybe Lightning was right. Racing _was_ the reward.

**As you may have guessed from this chapter, Junior Moon is my favourite of the Legends. River Scott and Louise Nash are still cool too, though! :)**

**And if you've watched the video of them using the trailers, you may recognise some of the dialogue.**

**I like this chapter and I hope you do too. Please let me know what you think! :)**


	29. Fading Fast

**Hi, guys! Got a brand new chapter for you all! We're down to the last ten chapters, which means a couple of things:**

**1\. Now seems like a good time to bring the Q and A back... If that's what you guys want, that is. If you do, ask away. Just like last time, you can ask any characters (canon or OC) about any of the events in any of my stories so far or just anything else you wanna know.**

**2\. Just for fun, I'm going to include a quiz question about my works at the end of each chapter. You don't have to give me your answers. You can just answer them in your head. Answers will appear at the beginning of the following chapter.**

**I do have a couple of announcements at the end of the chapter too, so I hope you'll stick around for that.**

**Chapter 29- Fading Fast**

Well, Fudge never thought it would happen, but she found herself smiling when she awoke the next morning to a loud honking noise and flapping wings.

"Hi, Herman!" she greeted the goose softly, petting him.

It was funny; lying there in RJ's bed, knowing it was her last day in Thomasville made Fudge realise just how much she was going to miss the place and everything about it, even Herman. Evil geese and watermelon accidents aside, it had been an amazing couple of days. She got to see her sister again; meet some of the biggest legends of the sport; receive some fun, albeit unconventional, training and she got to race again. Once again, as she lay in bed, thinking back to her race in the woods, Fudge couldn't wipe the smile off her face. It was one of- if not, _the_\- best night of her life and thinking about it made her just want to lie in bed and ignore the fact that she was leaving. So, she lay in bed, daydreaming for a while followed by pulling on her glasses and writing about her time in Thomasville- and the wonderful time she'd had the night before- in her journal.

She was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hey, kid!" Sammy greeted her, entering the room. She was dressed in a denim jacket, red T-shirt with the Rust-Eze logo on the front, jeans and sneakers. "In the mood for some company?"

"Sure", Fudge replied, putting her journal away. "I'm finished anyway."

Her sister sat down on the bed. "I was just wondering how you were doing. I mean, this race is a pretty big deal. For both you _and_ McQueen. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah!" the sixteen-year-old assured her. "I mean, I was nervous at first; I guess I still am, but coming to Thomasville has made me feel a little bit better about things."

Sammy nodded in understanding.

"Besides, last night was fun!"

The older sister smirked. "It _was_ fun!" Then her smile vanished. "I guess I'm just worried that you'll be upset if McQueen doesn't win. Somehow, I can't envision him as a mud flaps salesman."

"Well, why wouldn't I be?" Fudge asked rhetorically. "I _want_ him to win and I think he's got a good shot."

"He's definitely gotten better", Sammy agreed. "So has Cruz. And so have you."

"Thanks... Right now, I'm just hoping for the best." She sighed. "If he's happy, I'm happy." She paused. "Still, it's gonna be a hell of a big change if he starts selling mud flaps."

Sammy was quiet for a moment. She took a quick glance around, making sure the voices she heard were still downstairs.

"Speaking of big changes", she began finally and for the first time since Fudge had known her, she seemed nervous. "Fudge, can you keep a secret?"

"That sounds like a challenge!" the teen joked.

"Seriously."

"Sure. As long as nobody asks me any straight up questions about it. If someone had asked me if you were a spy, I wouldn't have been able to, but since nobody did, I kept that a secret... Why? What's up?

Sammy took a deep breath. "I'm having a kid."

"_What_?!" Fudge exclaimed in disbelief. She was initially surprised, but she probably shouldn't have been. After all, it explained why she'd been having Coke instead of alcohol at the Cotter Pin every night and why she wasn't using the conventional position for rider crew chiefs the night before. (Fudge hadn't thought much of that at the time.)

"I'm going to have a baby", Sammy confirmed.

"You mean... you're pregnant?"

"That's right." The rainbow-haired woman patted her stomach. "I'm not very far along. I only found out the day you guys arrived in Thomasville. You're the first to know."

"Not even the father?"

Sammy shook her head. "Nah. Bobby Miller-"

"Bobby Miller?" Fudge repeated. "You mean Jamie's father?"

"Yeah. He and I just ran into each other one night not too long ago and... stuff happened", she summarised, looking at her naïve, innocent sixteen-year-old half-sister. "I don't think he's interested in me. Or being a father. He wasn't with Jamie."

"Well, I think it's great... that you're pregnant", Fudge finished awkwardly.

Sammy grinned. "Me too! You'll be an aunt!"

The two sisters hugged until they heard the front door open and the others greet Lightning and Cruz.

"Everyone's downstairs, waiting for us!" the older sister whispered, pulling away. "You better get dressed. And hey! Don't tell anyone what I just told you. I only told you today so no matter what happens, you will have had _some_ good news today."

"It's not my news to tell."

"Thanks, Fudge. I knew I could count on you."

Sammy left the room and Herman jumped down from the bed as Fudge got up reluctantly and proceeded to get dressed. It was race day! D-Day! For the first time since the day of the Los Angeles 500, the day of Lightning's big crash, Fudge had on her entire cheerleading attire- Rust-Eze racing jacket, 95 T-shirt, red shorts and red and yellow striped knee-high socks, Lightning McQueen high tops, red glitter top hat and star necklace. She was ready for race day.

* * *

"Hey!" Cruz exclaimed when she saw Fudge in her cheerleading attire as they all met up for breakfast. "You look great! I don't think I've seen you in that before."

"Look at you!" Sammy added, putting her arm around her sister.

Fudge couldn't help smiling. She _felt_ great. "Thanks."

"You're ready for the race!" Lightning commented.

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Yeah, I think so", he responded, sounding more confident than he had in months.

"So, what did you do last night?" Luigi wanted to know.

"Oh, it was _awesome_!" Fudge exclaimed. "We went racing through the woods!"

"Racing?" Luigi repeated, his eyes widening. "Did _you_ go racing?"

"Yeah..." Fudge shrunk down in her chair.

"Fudge, you _know_ how we feel about you racing!" Luigi reminded her. Now, his eyes were narrowing. "Especially after your accident."

"I know how you feel, Luigi", Lightning explained. "I feel the same way, but Smokey made sure she was safe and we all really had fun."

"I understand that you'd be worried", Smokey added. "We used helmets and magnets."

"But don't get too comfortable with it, Fudge", Lightning added. "That was a one-time thing."

Fudge nodded, trying not to let her disappointment show. She should've known.

Luigi still didn't look particularly happy about the fact that his daughter had been racing, but didn't say anything else. He just returned to his breakfast in silence, as did everyone else.

"Are you ready to go?" Smokey questioned as they all finished up their breakfast. He was looking at Lightning and Cruz. "I wanna see how much you've learned."

"Yes, sir", Lightning responded determinedly.

* * *

So, they got all of the dishes put aside and left in soak in record time before the entire group gathered by the speedway one last time. Guido was positioned on top of the flag waver's platform. Cruz was in pole position, Lightning was at the back of the pack and Fudge joined her sister, Herman, Smokey and the Legends in the infield. This time, Smokey had Fudge put her headset on, so he could see how much she'd learned too. Mack stood close by to remind them that they had to get going soon. All of the other racers were in Florida already. In fact, they were making jokes at the oldest racer's expense.

"_McQueen's_ still _not here? Didn't he pull this when he was a rookie? At least, that's what my_ _grandfather told me._"

"_Maybe it's best if he _doesn't _show up. You know, after how last season ended._"

"_Let me put it this way: I'm not losing_ any _sleep wondering where Lightning McQueen is._"

Yet Lightning refused to leave Thomasville a second before he had to. Now, it was do or die.

"**GO!**" Smokey shouted, to which Lightning didn't hesitate to obey, shooting off after Cruz.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Fudge whispered, jumping up and down anxiously. Then she remembered that she was on the headset. "Okay. You gotta dig deep and catch up to Cruz! Until you do, stay on the inside. I'll let you know when there's anything you gotta watch out for." With a brief smile at Smokey, she added, "I know this track."

"_All right. Thanks._" With that, Lightning picked up speed.

So, Fudge remained silent most of the time, occasionally calling out to look out for things like pebble number one hundred and forty-three and where the track terrain was a little tougher or slicker.

"Come on!" Smokey yelled as they got close to the end.

At that moment, Cruz crossed the finish line with Lightning right on her tail.

"Oh, my God!" Fudge cried excitedly. "I think that's the closest he's ever gotten!"

Smokey gave a small smile. "I think so too!"

"If he keeps going like this, I think he might have a good chance!" the human girl proclaimed.

Lightning came over to join them. "Yeah. We got time for a couple more runs, right?" He looked from Fudge to Smokey to Mack.

"We gotta get goin' soon if you wanna make it to the race at all", Mack reminded him.

"I know, I know! Just a couple more runs! I think we've got time!"

Fudge checked the time on her phone. "How long does it take to get to the Florida International Super Speedway?"

Mack told her.

"And the race starts at two, right?"

"Yeah, but we should be there a little earlier", the Rust-Eze driver responded.

"We have some time", the crew chief decided.

"All right!" Smokey's voice boomed out. "If you got time, then let's not waste any more of it! Let's go!"

Once again, nobody hesitated to obey. Lightning and Cruz were off and running and Fudge was on the headset. It was like second nature to all of them.

* * *

"All right!" Smokey called out after a couple of more close runs. "We got time for one last race!"

Lightning took several deep breaths and stretched his tyres, trying to stay in the zone.

"Hurry this along, boss!" Mack urged again anxiously. "We gotta get you to Florida!"

"Go!" Smokey shouted.

Guido waved the green flag and, for the last time in Thomasville, they were off! Lightning was more determined than ever and everyone was more nervous than ever. This was it. This was the moment of truth. Fudge gave her brother advice through the headset where necessary, but remained silent for the most part, letting him do his own thing.

Lightning was gaining on Cruz, pushing himself as fast as he possibly could.

"Come on!" Fudge cried. "You got this!"

"Let's go, McQueen!" Sammy added.

With how close he'd gotten every other time and continued to get better, the sixteen-year-old was convinced that he had this one in the bag!

"Come on, boy!" That was Smokey, who was watching the gap between the two racers grow smaller and smaller. "Come on!"

Lightning drafted behind Cruz for a couple of seconds before becoming level with her. Fudge's heart pounded. She was so excited and nervous that she began leaning up against Smokey subconsciously.

"Yes!" she squealed, jumping up and down and punching the air as Lightning overtook Cruz. "Yesyes**YES!**" For a brief moment, she felt like hugging Smokey in her excitement, but fought to control herself. Not that it mattered because she found the pickup truck pulling her into a hug of his own. _Oh, what the hell?_ she thought, hugging him back.

"**THERE YOU GO, BOY! THERE YOU GO!**" Smokey yelled.

Lightning was grinning to himself. He had overtaken Cruz! He had gone through the entire field in three laps! He knew he could win this thing!

However, the joy that filled the air was short lived. It didn't take Cruz long to catch up again. All too quickly, the yellow car was back in front.

"No!" Fudge wailed, utterly disheartened. He'd been _so close_!

As Lightning watched her go and struggled to catch up, he could hear Darrell Cartrip's voice from that fateful night come back to haunt him. "_McQueen is fading! McQueen is fading!_ _Fading fast!_" Those awful words echoed in his mind as he remembered the terrible, life-changing crash he'd suffered months ago.

At that moment, Cruz crossed the finish line and claimed first place. Everyone was silent, feeling the weight of the 95 racer's defeat.

Well, not _every_one.

"Whoo-hoo!" Cruz exclaimed gleefully, doing donuts. "Yes! Did you see that?! That was _incredi_-" She stopped short, glancing over at Lightning and realising what her victory meant for him. There was a long pause. "Uh... Sorry. I... I didn't mean to-"

"It's not your fault, Cruz", Fudge offered quietly.

For a long time, nobody said anything. The cars lowered their hoods and the humans did the same thing with their heads. Even Herman seemed to pick up on the melancholy mood around the Thomasville Speedway. In that moment, Lightning knew- he _knew_\- that his career was over. He couldn't believe it.

"Hey, uh... boss?" Mack broke the silence finally. "It's time to hit the road."

"Yeah", Lightning agreed softly. That was it. He was out of time. Turning around, he addressed Smokey, Sammy and the Legends. "I, uh... I... I wanna... thank everyone for the training..." He cast a dejected look at Cruz and Fudge, beginning to drive away, and added, "We better get going to Florida."

So, unfortunately, their wonderful time in Thomasville ended on a sour note. With heavy hearts, Lightning, Cruz and Fudge made their way over to the trailer to head on over to Florida.

**I just want to say now that Sammy's pregnancy is not really relevant or significant in this story, but once I get to that part in the _Cars Origins_ trilogy, it will play a more significant part.**

**Now, for my announcement. *Drumroll* I have started a new _Cars_ forum! I couldn't think of a name, so I just called it _Cars_ Forum, I Guess. If you want to discuss _Cars_ or introduce your OCs, then you are all definitely welcome. All I ask is that you read the rules first.**

**Finally, it's time for the first quiz question. I'll start off with something simple: ****What is Fudge's real first name? **


	30. Fudge Steps Down

**Correct answer to the quiz question is... Brittney! Congratulations if you got it!**

**I'm so glad you guys seem to like the fact that Sammy's pregnant. And just so you know, I've already decided the sex of the baby and his or her name. Personally, I thought apart from that, the last chapter was a little dry. This chapter isn't a whole lot better, I think, but at least this is an original. It's got nothing from the movie in it.**

**You might be able to guess what happens in this chapter, based on the title. And I doubt you'll be surprised to know I borrowed some dialogue from _The Internship_ again. I did that because first of all, it's a great movie! Second of all, since Owen Wilson's in that movie, I can hear Lightning's voice saying these things.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter 30- Fudge Steps Down**

The ride to Florida was long and mostly silent. However, when they were about halfway there, Lightning began to speak.

"I just can't believe this!" he murmured, sounding close to tears. "I thought I was ready for this! I was so sure of it."

"But you were so close, Mr. McQueen!" Cruz reminded him. "And you don't know what's gonna happen in this race! None of us do!"

"Yeah, you still have a chance", Fudge chimed in.

"Come on! I think we all know how this story ends!" Lightning sighed. "Look, guys. I really appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but it's not working, all right?"

So, Cruz and Fudge went silent, feeling terrible for Lightning.

* * *

Five minutes later, Fudge's phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered it, turning away from Lightning and Cruz to hear better. "Oh, hi, Sammy... Hi, Smokey; hi, Junior; hi, River; hi, Louise... Not great... Yeah, I really want him to win, but I... I just don't know... You are?... Really?" Fudge was beginning to sound excited. "Oh, sweet! That's awesome!... Thanks. I'm sure we could do with all the help we can get." She paused as Sammy spoke and then laughed. "I think I can live with that!" She laughed again. "Oh, really?... Where are you?... So, not that far behind... Okay. We'll see you there!... Bye. Thanks again." She hung up with a smile on her face.

"What's going on?" Lightning wondered.

"They're all coming to the race."

"Really?" The stock car was just as happy and surprised as Fudge had been.

"Yep. They think you could do with all the help you can get. Sammy and Smokey wanna try to be in the pits, so we'll have to meet up with them and let the security know they're with us. River, Junior and Louise will be in the stands, though. They'll try to get tickets when they get there, they said. Then again, racing legends like them might get in for free."

"All right." Lightning nodded. He was still depressed, but he was glad to know that Smokey and the gang would be there.

"What could you live with?" Cruz wondered.

"Herman can't come."

"What a tragedy", Lightning joked halfheartedly.

"I know! Can you _believe_ that geese aren't allowed at the speedway?! That's _shocking_! That's discrimination! But apparently, he'll be watching on TV."

Lightning gave a weak chuckle. "Well, I'll have to thank Herman the next time I see him."

* * *

Things were silent for a long time. Fudge returned to the bed where she lounged, writing in her journal before searching a certain video up on her phone. Pretty soon, an announcer's voice filled the trailer, describing the race.

"What are you watching?" Cruz wanted to know, approaching Fudge.

"Oh, I searched up the flip the Fabulous Hudson Hornet did", the sixteen-year-old explained. "You know, the one Smokey told us about? This was the first video that came up."

"Can I watch with you?"

"Sure." Fudge moved her phone over to let Cruz have a good view too.

The two watched for a while. Not only could they hear the announcer's voice, but they could occasionally make out the words of some of the crew chiefs, including Smokey. The Hudson pickup truck was always cool, calm and collected. He sounded very professional and seemed to know exactly what the Fabulous Hudson Hornet should be doing and when.

* * *

That got Fudge thinking. Smokey had more years of experience than she had years in her whole life. When Lightning wasn't sure if he could get back on top, Smokey had always had an idea on how to help. Sneak through the window, while they hadn't understood what it meant, at first, it had been very clever, as was everything he'd done for them over the last couple of days.

Then there was her. Okay. She did have _some_ experience and quite a lot of knowledge of the sport, but nowhere near as much as Smokey. She could barely stay awake during the races, she recalled, thinking back to the night of Lightning's crash; she hadn't quite been with it then. Maybe if she had been, then, well, maybe he might not have beaten Storm, but she could've helped him through the situation and his crash could've been avoided. Then Fudge remembered all of the times she'd fallen asleep during races or had ran off to grab a hot dog or even sent Mater or someone else for one. This was the first time she realised how unprofessional she must look, standing up there on the crew chief platform, munching on a hot dog with ketchup and mustard dripping down her chin and fingers, which she'd then lick off, giving out instructions with her mouth half full. Fudge cringed, thinking about it and cringed some more, thinking about how she'd goofed off with Cruz at the Rust-Eze Racing Center like Lightning said. He was right. Lightning McQueen needed a crew chief who could stand by his side when he needed them to and who could help him through such a difficult challenge.

"Fudge!" Cruz got the human girl's attention.

Fudge looked back at her phone to see the rookie slamming the Fabulous Hudson Hornet into the wall. A second later, Doc pushed off the wall to go flying into the air. His roof was so close to the rookie's, they were almost touching! It was amazing!

"Whoa!" Fudge and Cruz exclaimed softly, simultaneously.

"I can't believe Doc never told us about this!" Fudge commented.

"Did he tell you a lot of stories about his racing days?" Cruz questioned.

"Not at first. I found out he was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet when I was... I must've been about four. I had to have a shot, but I didn't want one, so I hid in his garage and found his Piston Cups."

Cruz smiled at the thought of a four-year-old Fudge doing that.

"He didn't like how his career ended- and that's what Lightning's worried about too", Fudge went on, "so he didn't want any of us knowing. He wasn't happy that I knew, so he paid me not to tell." (Cruz laughed.) "Then Lightning showed up in town and you know the rest."

"Then I was right about Mr. McQueen!" the yellow car commented, impressed. "He really _can_ talk a snowmobile into an air conditioner! If he could convince someone who wanted to leave the whole sport to become his crew chief!"

Fudge felt a little uncomfortable at the mention of the words _crew chief_, but she tried to shrug it off. "Yeah", she added. "And he convinced Doc, Guido _and_ Luigi to let me go for laps." Or at least, that's what she _tried_ to say; she was mumbling a little with her discomfort.

"What did you say?" Cruz asked.

Fudge repeated herself.

"Are you okay? You seem a little tense. Repeat after me: 'I am a fluffy cloud, I am a fluffy cloud, I am a fluffy cloud'", Cruz chanted.

Giggling a little and taking deep breaths, Fudge did as she was told.

"Better?"

"Yeah, a little bit." Fudge couldn't believe it had worked to help her relax. Plus, it made her laugh, which eased her tension too.

"Is something wrong?"

"I need to talk to Lightning." With those words, she reached into her backpack, pulled something out and shuffled into the other section of the trailer to see Lightning.

"Hey, Lightning", she greeted him quietly.

He gave her a soft smile. "Hey, Fudge."

"Are you okay?"

He sighed. "I don't know... I guess I just thought that _something_ would have worked."

"Yeah. I know." Fudge hugged him. "Chrysler knows how hard you've worked for this. All you can do now is hope for the best. I think it's one of those things where if it's meant to be, you'll win."

"I guess so." The stock car didn't sound convinced.

"But, you know, no matter what happens, I'll be happy as long as _you're_ happy."

Lightning smiled. "Thanks, Fudge-O." He paused with a heavy sigh and added, "If you don't mind, I'd rather be alone right now."

"Well, I really need to talk to you."

"Whatever it is, can't it wait until later?"

She shook her head. "No. The future doesn't know later."

"All the future _is_ is later", Lightning argued. "That's literally what the future _is_. It's _later_."

"Well, anyway, I think you should know this now: I don't think I should be your crew chief anymore."

"_What_?!" Lightning looked at her like he didn't understand. "Fudge? Is something wrong? Don't you _want _to be my crew chief? I thought you liked it!"

"I do! I _do_! I _love_ it and I wanna thank you for letting me do it for the last three years. I just... don't think I can do it anymore."

"_What_?!" Lightning repeated with wide eyes. "Fudge, how can you _say_ that? After everything that's happened, how can you _say_ that?"

"That's actually _why_ I'm saying it..." Fudge explained. "Um... I've been thinking and you were right. I _have_ just been goofing off with Cruz-"

"Come on, Fudge! I mean, yeah, you were, but that doesn't matter. You've learned your lesson, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah, but not just that... I always get tired and sometimes fall asleep during races. I get hungry and eat hot dogs right there on the platform! I only just realised how unprofessional I must look doing that. You need someone who's focused, there one hundred per cent and can do the job well."

"Fudge, _you_ do the job well!" her brother insisted. "Maybe you're not the most conventional crew chief out there, but you get the job done!"

"Not if I fall asleep", Fudge countered. "I wish I was the right person for the job, but I'm not. You deserve better than me."

Lightning couldn't believe it. Three years on the job and _now_ she doubted her abilities. "Fudge-" he started with a hint of anger in his voice.

"It's not as crazy as it sounds, Lightning!" Fudge argued. "We both know what happens if you lose this race! I just want to give you the best possible chance to win!"

"Well, what would _you _suggest?"

"I think you should ask Smokey."

"Smokey?" Lightning repeated, but not with anger or disgust, but rather surprise and thoughtfulness.

"Yeah, I mean he's been helping you way more than I have", Fudge pointed out. "Even if I did the job just fine, I think he'd be the way to go."

Lightning couldn't argue with that, but...

"Well, what about you?" he wondered.

"I'll go back to being the cheerleader. I think I was better at that anyway." With a sigh, she added, "I don't have much of a career left in racing anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I want you to win as much as you do and I think you've got a good shot... Still, you might not and even if you do, I think it's obvious that you're closer to the end of your career than the start. I don't wanna be the crew chief for just anybody and it's not like I can be a racer myself..." Fudge trailed off awkwardly, not wanting Lightning to think that she was trying to have another dig at him.

"Guess not", Lightning murmured softly, feeling like that was exactly what she was doing.

"Maybe I don't know exactly how you feel with this whole thing going on", Fudge admitted, "but your accident may have ended your career... Mine ended mine before it even started."

Lightning didn't know what to say.

"I'm really sorry", Fudge went on, "but let's face it. Ever since Jackson Storm arrived, I've just been letting you down."

"That's not true!"

"It is!" At those words, Fudge held out the item she'd pulled from her backpack. It was her headset. She gave it to him and started to head back to the other section of the trailer. "I'm sure about my decision. I think it would be better for the team."

"How dare you?!" Lightning shouted after her, prompting Luigi, Guido and Cruz to peer in. They had no idea what was going on. "**HOW DARE YOU?! SHAME ON YOU! PUT THIS** **HEADSET BACK ON! IF YOU'RE GONNA ****QUIT, QUIT, BUT DON'T GIVE ME THIS CRAP ABOUT** **'IT'S BETTER FOR THE TEAM!'**"

Fudge didn't answer.

"Come on, Fudge!" Lightning tried again, but there was still no answer from Fudge.

"Mr. McQueen?" Cruz ventured.

"Fudge just quit!" Lightning answered her unvoiced question. He sounded like he just couldn't believe it.

"_Quit_?!" Cruz echoed, sounding just as astonished.

Luigi looked to his daughter in disbelief. "You _quit_?!"

"(Why did you do that?)" Guido questioned.

"Because I was never any good at it", Fudge mumbled, flopping onto her bed. "I've only just realised that."

"Fudge, what are you talking about?!" Cruz disagreed. "You were _great_!"

The sixteen-year-old went through her reasons as to why she wasn't good at her job and why Smokey should do it instead. "He'll be ten times better at it than me."

Everyone looked at Lightning, wanting to know what he thought.

"If Fudge wants to quit and give Smokey the job, fine! I'll ask him." He looked to his sister. "But if he says no, will you come back?"

"I'll think about it", she responded, which Lightning thought was better than nothing.

"Uh... boss?" Mack piped up. "We're here."

Lightning took a deep breath. He was at the race that would decide his fate; his crew chief had just quit and he'd never felt less prepared for anything in his life.

**Ooh! What do you think of that? What's gonna happen next? Well, if you've seen _Cars 3_ (and I'm assuming you all have), then you'll have _some_ idea...**

**Just a reminder that if you want to check out my forum, _Cars_ Forum, I Guess, then you are all most definitely welcome to do that. I'd really love to hear from you guys!**

**Now, time for the quiz question! This one's another easy one: ****When is Fudge's birthday? **

**Please review!**


	31. To the Future

**Correct answer to the quiz question is... June 16th! Well done, guys!**

**There are two reasons I made Fudge quit as crew chief. One, it seemed fitting. Two, it explains why Smokey's crew chief in canon.**

**Here we go! We're at the Florida 500! I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 31- To the Future**

"_Welcome to racing's greatest day!_" Bob Cutlass announced. "_We're beachside at_ _the Florida International Speedway to kick off a new season of Piston Cup racing. It's the_ _Florida 500._"

"_Forty-three cars and a quarter million fans await today's intense contest of strategy, skill,_ _but most of all, speed_", Darrell Cartrip added. "_This crowd is in for one great day of racing._"

* * *

While there were a quarter of a million excited fans packed into the speedway, there were millions more people around the country also tuning in. Red, Sheriff and Lizzie were watching anxiously from Radiator Springs. Miss Fritter and the gang from Thunder Hollow had also gathered in their hometown bar to watch the race. Then there were the rest of the residents from Radiator Springs, who had shown up to the race and were going to be watching it, equally anxious as the ones back home.

* * *

"_I'm Bob Cutlass_", the announcer continued, "_joined as always by my broadcasting_ _partner, Darrell Cartrip and stats sensation, Natalie Certain._"

"_I've never seen the numbers line up for Storm like they do today, Bob_", Natalie proclaimed. "_Storm should be ninety-six point eight per cent unstoppable!_"

"_Well, don't overlook Lightning McQueen_", Darrell Cartrip chimed in.

* * *

"**WHIPPLEFILTER!**" Miss Fritter hollered, sending everyone in the bar into an excited frenzy.

* * *

"_We've heard stories of the unusual way McQueen trained to get here_", Bob Cutlass went on. "_Now, the question is: Did it work?_"

* * *

"Oh, I hope so!" Fudge murmured to herself nervously at Bob's words. There were butterflies in her stomach. No matter what happened, she could definitely say that she had thoroughly enjoyed the last two weeks; she just hoped they'd been worth it.

Lightning was still in his trailer, going through the usual pre-race ritual. Fudge was in the pits with Cruz, Luigi, Guido, Mater, Sally, Sarge, Fillmore, Ramone and Sammy.

* * *

"Hi, guys!" she'd exclaimed happily a few minutes earlier when she, Luigi, Guido and Cruz entered the pits, catching sight of her family from back home. She was carrying a box of tissues from her toiletry bag, believing that she and the others would need them either way.

"Hey, Fudge!" they had returned the greeting, sounding equally happy to see her.

"Who's this?" Sally had asked, nodding at Cruz.

"I'm Cruz Ramirez", the yellow car had introduced herself. "I'm Mr. McQueen's trainer."

"And my new best friend", Fudge had added, smiling at Cruz, who returned the gesture.

"So, what's this we hear about you guys endin' up in a demolition derby, man?" Fillmore had questioned.

"Funny story!" Fudge had laughed. Maybe their misadventure at Thunder Hollow Speedway hadn't been funny at the time, but it was definitely funny now.

Fudge and Cruz had recounted the crazy two weeks they'd had to the rest of the Radiator Springs residents, who had laughed and exclaimed things like, "Stickers _destroyed_ the simulator?!" and, "We'll have to meet this Herman." Fudge's description of the evil goose that had terrorised her had been especially funny. It felt good to laugh. All of them, even those who'd stayed behind in Radiator Springs, were aware of the deal Lightning made with Sterling and the stakes of this race.

The moment they were done, Fudge's phone had rung and she was quick to fish it out of her pocket and answer it.

"Yellow!" she cried. "Hi, Sammy!... You are?... Awesome! Where are you?... Entrance A113?... Yeah. Great! I'll be right there!" She hung up.

"What's going on?" Sarge had wanted to know.

"Sammy and Doc's old crew chief are here", Fudge had explained. "I gotta go meet them down at security to get them in."

"Doc's old crew chief?" Ramone had repeated while everyone else looked equally surprised.

"Yep", Fudge had confirmed. "And he's Lightning's _new_ crew chief too."

"New crew chief?" nearly everyone had echoed in surprise and confusion.

"What about you?" Mater had quizzed Fudge.

"I'll tell you later", she had responded, not feeling like explaining again. "You can meet the new guy in a sec. I'll be right back." With that, she left the pits.

Luckily, she didn't have to explain; Luigi, Guido and Cruz explained _for_ her while she was gone.

* * *

She had run off to the security gate, outside of which she met her half-sister and her friend.

"Hi, guys!" she had greeted them.

"Fudge!" Sammy had exclaimed. She enveloped Fudge in a hug as if it had been years since they'd last seen each other rather than hours.

"I'm so glad you guys came!" Fudge had proclaimed, hugging both of them.

"You kidding?" Smokey had laughed, hugging Fudge back. "We wouldn't have missed this for the world!" He paused and added, "River, Junior and Lou got tickets outside. They'll be watchin' from the stands." He waved towards them.

Fudge nodded happily. "Cool... Well, then, let's go!" Fudge had flashed her pit pass at the security guard and added, "They're with me", nodding at the Thomasville residents.

The car had nodded. "Go ahead."

So, the three of them made their way into the grounds, full of nerves and excitement.

"Sammy, why don't you come with me?" the sixteen-year-old had suggested, taking the twenty-seven-year-old woman by the hand. "Smokey, I think Lightning wanted to talk to you before the race. He should be in his trailer." She thought it would look better if Lightning asked him to be the crew chief.

Sammy and Smokey had both agreed to Fudge's plan. So, they all went off and that was how they got to this point.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lightning was still in his trailer, trying to get himself psyched up for the race, which was next to impossible.

"Speed", he whispered to himself with his eyes closed. "I... am... speed?"

He opened his eyes. He knew he had to accept the fact that that just wasn't true anymore. He wasn't speed. _Jackson Storm_ was speed. There was just no way he could win this race.

Slumping on his tyres, he was distracted, as usual, by Mack banging on his trailer door.

"Hey, boss!" the truck called. "They're, uh, calling the racers to the track!"

Lightning took several deep breaths. He didn't really want to race. In fact, he felt like he'd rather just go home and throw up. Yet, if he wanted to save his career, he had no choice. He was racing. He was racing like he'd never raced before. If this really _was_ his last race, he wanted to make it a good one.

Reluctantly, Lightning rolled out of the trailer to make his way into the pits. Before he could go anywhere, though, he found Smokey outside the trailer waiting for him.

"Fudge said you wanted to talk to me", were the words Smokey used to greet him.

Lightning took a deep breath. "Yeah... I know this is gonna sound weird, but Fudge just quit as my crew chief. I got this big race and no crew chief. I was wondering if you-"

The pickup truck smiled. "Say no more, kid", he cut in. "I'm happy to do it. In fact, I'd be honoured to do it for Hud's boy. I can't leave 'im without a crew chief in an important race like this."

Lightning smiled and sighed in sheer relief. "Thanks, Smokey! I can't do this on my own!"

"Just out of curiosity, why did Fudge quit?" Smokey couldn't understand why a crew chief would just give up on their racer at such a critical time.

Lightning shrugged. "Who knows?" Even though Fudge had explained her reasons to him, he didn't understand it either.

"Uh... Boss?" Mack piped up. "You better get to the pits."

McQueen took another deep breath. "Yeah." He looked to his new crew chief.

"Go ahead, kid", Smokey instructed him. "I'll be there soon. Last thing you need is me makin' you nervous."

Lightning remembered Doc saying that. He'd been even more nervous thinking he didn't have a crew chief than he would've been by Doc or Smokey's presence. However, he didn't really feel like telling Smokey that. He had enough to worry about as it was.

"All right", he agreed. He gave Smokey the headset. "I'm trusting you with this." After a moment of consideration, he added, "But could you do me a favour?" He handed Smokey a second headset. "Could you give this to Fudge? Tell her to put it on if she changes her mind. I'd love to have two great crew chiefs in this race. I need all the help I can get."

Smokey smiled. "I'll be sure to. Now, what are you still doin' here? Go get ready for the race!"

* * *

So, Lightning went. On his way past, he ran into his old friend, Jeff Gorvette, a retired racer, who was being interviewed.

"Oh, hey, McQueen!" Jeff called out, stopping what he was doing when he noticed his friend. "Win one for us old guys!"

Lightning gave a weak laugh. "Will do, Jeff."

So, Jeff went back to business and Lightning approached his pits where he heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey there, buddy!"

Lightning gave a small smile. The last few weeks and even months had been hard on him, so he was glad to see his best friend and his girlfriend. "Hey, guys!"

"Stickers!" a familiar baby blue Porsche greeted him.

"Hey, Sal", Lightning returned the greeting halfheartedly.

"You okay?" she questioned worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, absolutely", Lightning assured her, although he didn't sound okay at all.

"Listen", Sally began, "you're gonna do great today. And no matter what happens... I'm gonna move on to the next rookie and forget I ever knew you!"

She gave a little laugh, which made Lightning let one out too.

"I'm glad you're here", he informed her sincerely. Right now, she was just the person he needed to see. Whenever he was going through a tough time, Sally could always make him feel more at ease.

Unfortunately, though, their moment was cut short when they saw what Jackson Storm was up to.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, getting an eyeful of Cruz, who still had Storm's name and decals duct taped to her sides and bumper. "Nice costume! C'mere; let's get a picture! It's so great to meet my number one fan!"

Cruz sighed and turned to Fudge, who was standing right beside her. "I guess I should've taken this off back in Thomasville!"

"You know", Storm continued, eyeing Fudge's 95 getup, "_your_ costume's a cute look too. Too bad it went out of style years ago."

"Well, it's making a comeback!" Fudge retorted. She was surprised and impressed that she managed to come up with a half decent retort. Normally, she was at Cal Weathers level at this kind of thing.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, sweetheart", Storm replied in a slimy tone. "And I see _you're_ not making a comeback. What happened to being the old timer's crew chief?"

"I'm not doing that anymore", Fudge explained.

"Why? Did you already get your assisting the elderly badge?" the current Piston Cup champion taunted, grabbing Fudge's wrist. "Come on, girl! What do you say you get with a _real_ racer?! You could work for me!" It was obvious that he wasn't interested in Fudge at all; his sole intention was upsetting her and winding her up.

"No!" Fudge cried, trying to jerk her hand away from him, but he was stronger than her and kept pulling.

"You sure about that?"

"Don't touch me!" the human girl yelled, still fighting.

"Hey! She said no, Storm!" Cruz came to her rescue, sounding kind of timid. "Why don't you leave her alone?"

"Why? Are you jealous?" He was still talking in that slimy tone as he came closer to Cruz, still holding onto Fudge.

Sally scoffed. "What a _jerk_!"

Lightning rolled forward to intervene. "_She's_ not a fan, Storm!" he set him straight, looking to Cruz. Then he nodded at Fudge. "And if you talk to my sister- or any woman- like that or lay one tyre on her again, I will punch your goddamn lights out! That is no way to treat a lady! Is that understood?!"

"Oh! Hey there, champ!" Storm spoke in a mock friendly voice and as if he hadn't even seen Lightning until he spoke. He dropped Fudge's hand smoothly while the human girl looked like she wanted to puke. "I heard you're selling mud flaps after today. Is that true? Hey!" he added, beginning to drive off. "You put me down for the first case, okay?"

Lightning looked to Fudge and Cruz. "You girls okay?" he questioned, concerned.

Fudge nodded uncertainly. Now, she was more angry than scared. Cruz nodded too.

"Someone needs to teach that moron a good lesson!" Lightning growled angrily.

"Yeah, let's hope he gets one today!" Fudge agreed hopefully, looking at Lightning.

"I wouldn't count on it, Fudge", he responded with a sad smile.

"If not, then _I'll_ do it!" Sammy vowed, rolling up the sleeves of her denim jacket. She, like everyone else in the pits, had witnessed the whole thing.

"Where's Smokey?" Fudge wondered, looking around. She was both genuinely curious and eager to change the subject.

"He should be here in a sec."

"Did you ask him?"

"Yeah. He said he's happy to do it."

"All right..." There was a little part of Fudge that hoped he'd turned down the offer. She still _wanted_ to be the crew chief, but she knew that was for the best if he took the job.

"Do what?" Sammy wondered.

"Smokey's Lightning's crew chief now", Fudge explained.

Sammy raised an eyebrow in confusion, but didn't say anything.

* * *

At that moment, the announcement came, informing the racers it was their last call to get to the track.

"This is it!" Fudge whispered anxiously, hugging Lightning.

Lightning took a deep breath. "All right. This is it", he murmured, more to himself than anybody else. This was what his career- his _fate_\- had come down to. After giving and receiving good luck kisses to and from both Sally and Fudge, he instructed his friends out loud, "Wish me luck." His voice was shaky and not nearly as confident as he'd normally be saying that.

"Good luck!" everyone called as Lightning left. Normally, Sally would tell him, "You don't need it!" But this time, she didn't. Things were serious this time.

"Give 'em hell, McQueen!" Sammy added.

"Oh, my God!" Fudge breathed, watching him go. "I'm so nervous for him!"

"Hey." Sammy put her arm around her sister. "If anyone can do this, it's McQueen."

Fudge smiled, knowing she was right. "I know. Thanks, Sammy."

Still, her heart was moving at Jackson Storm's top speed as Lightning rolled off.

* * *

When he was gone, two more people showed up in his pits. The first one was Sterling and he looked all business; so much, in fact, that Fudge was kind of afraid of him. For the first ten minutes, he was on the phone, insisting that some racer be ready for a race the next weekend and something about "Mr. McQueen's photo shoot Monday morning." As if he'd already lost the race.

The second new arrival was a much more welcome one.

"Smokey!" Fudge exclaimed. "Just in time!"

"Fudge, I wanna talk to you before the race!" he informed her.

"All right..." she agreed as Smokey led her aside.

"I spoke to McQueen", the pickup truck began. "I'm happy to take the job as crew chief. I just wanna know you're sure about this."

Fudge nodded sincerely without a moment of hesitation. "Absolutely. I think it's the best decision."

"Well, McQueen wanted me to give you this." Smokey gave the sixteen-year-old her headset. "Said to tell you to put it on if you change your mind. We can do it together."

"I won't change my mind", Fudge insisted, taking it anyway. "I'm sure about my decision."

Smokey nodded and put _his_ headset on.

* * *

At the back of the pack, Lightning was more nervous than he'd ever been in a race. All he could think was, _This is it, this is it, this is it! It's all come down to this!_ The only things that calmed his nerves a little (not even much!) were knowing his friends were in the pits, cheering him on and two little girls in the stands- a red car named Maddy McGear and dark-haired human girl named Summer Freeman- could still be heard cheering for him.

"**LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**" they screamed. "**LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING** **MCQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!**"

Fudge, having heard, smiled. At least _some_ fans had stuck by him. She kept smiling when, after some difficulty, she managed to pick out Louise, River and Junior amongst the crowd.

Then Fudge's smile faltered. Not only was there so much at stake, but she felt weird not wearing a headset (which she'd stuffed into her pocket) or being perched up on the crew chief platform. She kind of missed it and her heart ached, but she had to remind herself that this was the right thing to do. Smokey was the right person for the job, not her.

"Hey, Lightning!" Sterling greeted him over the headset.

"Hey, Mr. Sterling", Lightning responded.

"To the future, eh, champ?"

"Yeah", Lightning agreed halfheartedly. "To the future."

"Hey", a new voice came through the radio.

Lightning looked to find Smokey getting up onto the crew chief platform. He wasn't Doc or Fudge, but seeing him up there and hearing his voice made the race car feel a little better.

"Just focus on what you're here to do, kid!"

Lightning couldn't help smiling a little. "Thanks, Smokey."

"Now, go make Hud proud!"

All of a sudden, Lightning was full of newfound determination. "You got it!"

At that moment, the green flag was waved.

"_Boogity, boogity, boogity_!" Darrell Cartrip yelled as the forty-three race cars were off and away. "_Let's go racin'!_"

"**GO, MCQUEEN!**" Mater hollered.

"Here we go!" Fudge whispered nervously. "Here we go!"

**I felt like it would be a good idea to leave it there. This chapter was originally a little bit shorter, but I added some more stuff in yesterday like the scene where Lightning asks Smokey to be his crew chief.**

**The line where Lightning would "rather go home and throw up" came from the audio commentary. That's actually how they said Lightning felt. Aww!**

**I'm pretty excited about the next chapter, considering it's one of my favourite parts of the movie. I hope you're all excited too!**

**Please review and finally... the quiz question! This one may be a _little_ harder...**

**In _Life Could Be a Dream_, Fudge was supposed to move to an orphanage on her sixth birthday. Where was the orphanage?**


	32. When a Window Opens, Take It!

**Correct answer is... Wisconsin! More people got it than I thought! I guess I should be honoured people are paying attention to my work (or they're cheating; I hope not, but I guess I won't know if they are!). If you really wanted to be specific, I mentioned the orphanage was just outside of Green Bay, but those who just said Wisconsin, you're not wrong, so good job, guys!**

**I thought I would upload this very special chapter on the one year anniversary of when I posted the _first_ chapter! I love this part of the movie and I love this chapter of my fan fic! I hope you love it too! I don't think any of you will be surprised by it, but I don't think you'll be disappointed either.**

**Enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 32- When a Window Opens, Take It!**

Lightning dug deep, determined to give this race everything he had. While the others did cheer for him occasionally, for the most part, they were silent as they were so anxious.

"Ready?!" Fudge hollered, now that she was the cheerleader again. "Okay!

_"__Hey! Listen to me! I'm on the mike!_

_"__Whatcha gonna do when the Lightning strike?!_

_"__I said, whatcha gonna do when the Lightning strike?!_

_"__Yeah! Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do_,

_"__Whatcha gonna do when the Lightning strike?!_

_"__Uh-huh! He's on that track! He gonna take the lead!_

_"'__Cause you know damn well that guy is speed!_

_"__He'll get number one, not number two!_

_"__And he's gonna beat the hell outta you!_

"_What's gonna happen when he runs that race?!_

"_Lightning will win fir-irst place!_

"_He won't just be in the top ten!_

"_He'll beat all of the Next Gens!_" She missed saying the line about him beating Cal and Bobby.

"_It's a great race, you'll feel alive,_

"_And guess who'll win, it's ninety-five!_"

"C'mon, buddy!" Mater shouted.

"You got this, Mr. McQueen", Cruz whispered to herself anxiously.

"There ya go, kid!" Smokey reassured Lightning through the headset, trying to keep him calm. "Now, show 'em how the old guys race!"

Before long, he managed to climb his way up to nineteenth place.

"Yes!" Fudge shrieked. They had a lot of work to do, but they were making progress and at this rate, they had a good chance.

"_Lightning McQueen is making steady progress in the early parts of this race_", Bob Cutlass observed.

"_Well, it won't be enough to catch Storm_", Natalie Certain declared firmly.

Fudge made a face at that. What a b**ch!

"_Considerin' he started dead last, I don't think he's doin' half bad out there_", Darrell Cartrip voiced his opinion.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Fudge murmured anxiously.

"Not too shabby!" Smokey proclaimed appreciatively once they were up to lap fifty-one. "You keep this up, you'll finish in the top ten!"

"_Top ten's not gonna cut it, Smokey!_" Lightning countered. "_I gotta go all the way!_"

"So, dig in!" Smokey instructed. "Remember your training! Find Storm and chase him down!"

"Oh!" Cruz exclaimed. "Tell him he has three laps to catch me!"

"Cruz says you got three laps to catch her", Smokey obliged.

"_Yeah, okay. Tell her thanks._"

* * *

The race went on for a couple more laps. It was around about this point that Sterling approached Cruz, who was stood with Fudge on the opposite side of the crew chief platform as everyone else, and inadvertently triggered a chain of events that would flip the entire race- and maybe even the entire _sport_\- on its head.

It started off with a simple question. "Cruz, what are you doing here?" he demanded.

Fudge and Cruz turned to look at him.

"Oh!" the latter exclaimed. "Mr. Sterling! I- I was just-"

"I'd like you to head back to the training centre right away", he broke in sternly.

"Oh! But why?"

"You can't _go_!" Fudge cried, horrified, turning to her best friend.

Cruz gave her friend a small smile. "Let me handle this." She turned back to her boss and repeated, "Why do I have to go?"

"I need you to get Kurt up to speed for the race next weekend", he explained. "Um... Wait, not Kurt. He's the bug guy, right? The other one. Ronald! Yes!"

Fudge and Cruz were stunned. Sterling was unbelievable! A: He didn't even know the names of the trainees in his facility. It was like Fudge knew he didn't know her name and didn't care. B: He was asking Cruz to leave only about a tenth of the way into the race to train a new racer. Clearly, he didn't have as much faith in Lightning as the rest of them did. Sure, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared, but couldn't it at least wait until _after_ the race?

"But I wanna stay and watch!" Cruz protested as Fudge stepped back anxiously.

"That's not gonna happen, Cruz", Sterling informed her. "Now, go!"

"But- but- but..." Cruz stammered. "Mr. McQueen still has a chance-"

"**JUST GO DO YOUR JOB!**" Sterling's outburst made Fudge and several others jump.

Cruz admitted defeat. "Yes, sir", she obliged reluctantly in a depressed tone. She turned to go, nudging Fudge on the way and gesturing for her to follow, leading her to one side.

"I gotta go", Cruz stated the obvious, beginning her goodbyes.

"It's not fair!" Fudge cried. "You don't even _like_ your job!" Fudge knew she was exaggerating; it wasn't that Cruz didn't _like_ her job, but rather, it hadn't been the job she'd always dreamed of.

"I know, but I gotta do it", Cruz sighed.

"This has been an awesome two weeks!" Fudge proclaimed, a little embarrassed by how mushy she was getting. "I'll never forget you, Cruz. You were my first best friend."

"I'll never forget you either. It's been an incredible two weeks for me too and you were _my_ first best friend. Tell Mr. McQueen I say thank you. And thank _you_ too."

Fudge smiled. "My pleasure. And I'll tell him."

Cruz returned the smile. "Thanks." She started to go, but Fudge stopped her.

"Will I ever see you again?" the sixteen-year-old wondered. She had no idea, but she hoped the answer would be yes.

"I- I don't know", Cruz stammered. "I- I hope so. I mean, if you're ever in North Carolina..." She trailed off, sure Fudge got the idea.

She did. "Absolutely. And if you're ever in Arizona..."

Cruz nodded. "Yeah..."

"Hold on! I'll give you my phone number..." Fudge looked around. "Does anybody have a pen and paper?" she called out to her friends and family.

There was no answer.

At that moment, Sterling came forward and pushed Fudge away from Cruz. "All right. You, whatever your name is, stop distracting Cruz! She's got a job to do."

"I'm going! I'm just saying goodbye to my friend!" Cruz informed him.

"I'm not paying you to make friends, Cruz", Sterling snapped. "I'm paying you to train young racers to be better racers and fit our brand. Now, go! And _don't_ make me tell you again!"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir", Cruz repeated sadly, giving Fudge one quick hug before driving off.

"And take off that spoiler and those racing tyres!" Sterling called after her. "You look ridiculous! You are a _trainer_, remember? Not a racer!"

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, Lightning was able to hear everything through his headset and Sterling's words echoed in his mind. _Not a racer, not a racer, not a racer._ With some shame, the stock car had a flashback to yelling at Fudge and Cruz after the demolition derby.

"_If you were_ racers_, you'd know what I'm talking about, but you're _not_! So, you_ don't!"

He remembered seeing Cruz up on the simulator and hearing Sterling's voice.

"_No, no, no, no. She's not a racer. She's a _trainer."

He remembered what a fast learner Cruz was on Fireball Beach, how she'd learned to drift in Thomasville and how she'd raced with him and the Legends through the woods. She had a look of sheer joy on her face every single time. Plus, she'd beaten him in every single race in Thomasville. Now, he could hear Cruz's voice.

"_I've wanted to become a racer_ forever_! Because of_ you_!_" Then it was, "_It was my one shot_ _and I didn't take it._"

Watching Cruz leave with those words going around in his mind broke Lightning's heart.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fudge watched Cruz go, trying to fight the tears.

"You okay, Fudge?" Mater questioned, concerned.

Fudge nodded, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down. "Yeah... I mean, I've been better, but I'll be okay."

"Come here." Luigi gave his daughter a hug.

"She was my best friend!" Fudge reminded the others. "I've _never_ had a best friend before! And I don't know if I'll ever see her again!"

"Yeah, well, that's life, I'm afraid", Sarge pointed out sympathetically, but matter-of-factly. "Sometimes, it's hard to say goodbye, but you just gotta do it."

Sammy rubbed her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay", she assured her, but Fudge didn't look so sure.

* * *

Out of nowhere, a car on the track lost control and clipped another car, leading to a massive crash.

"Wreck in two!" Smokey called to Lightning through the radio. "Wreck in turn two! Go low, go low!"

Lightning weaved through the out of control cars with everyone watching anxiously. As he made his way through, there were a couple of close calls where he only just escaped being clipped. Luckily, he managed to avoid the wreck and come to a stop. By then, the yellow flag was out. Fudge felt a shiver run through her spine at the sight of all of the wrecked cars, having a flashback to Lightning's crash. Based on the shocked looks on her family member's faces, they all felt the same way.

"Kid?" Smokey ventured, having not heard anything from the race car in a while. "You okay?"

"_Smokey, I need Cruz!_" was Lightning's only response.

"Never mind that now-" Smokey began.

"_No!_" Lightning interjected. "_I need her back here! _Now_! Get her back!_"

Not knowing what Lightning was up to, but knowing he was serious, Smokey turned to the others and began barking out orders to get hold of Cruz.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cruz was just outside the speedway, exiting the grounds. She was still able to hear the announcers.

"_The yellow flag's still out, folks! Wrecked cars_ everywhere_!_"

That was when Cruz heard a couple of fast beeps come from her radio speaker.

"_Hamilton here! Call from Chester Whipplefilter!_"

"Chester Whipple-" Cruz began, puzzled before she stopped talking _and_ driving in realisation. "Mr. McQueen?" Hurriedly, she answered.

"_Cruz, where are you?!_" Lightning demanded.

"I'm just outside the speedway. Mr. Sterling wanted me to-"

"_Yeah, I heard_", Lightning cut her off. "_I need you back here!_"

"I can't do that, Mr. McQueen", Cruz protested.

"_Yes you can! I need you to! And hurry!_"

"I'm on my way!" As unsure as she was, Cruz turned around and headed back to the speedway.

* * *

"Fudge! Go meet her at the gates!" Smokey ordered. "She won't be able to get back in on her own."

"Roger that!"

So, off she went. Good thing she did. At the gates, Cruz ran into that exact problem.

"Do you have a pass?" one of the security guards demanded.

Cruz looked around. She didn't have a pass.

"I- I don't have it", she stuttered. "But- but- I- I came in with Lightning McQueen and-"

"Rules are rules", the security car informed her. "You can't get into the grounds without-"

"She's with me!" a familiar voice called out. Fudge rushed over as fast as she could. She flashed her garage pass at the guard, who happened to be the same guard Fudge had shown her badge to when she was getting Smokey and Sammy into the pits.

"Is _everyone_ with you?" he grumbled. "Fine!"

Both Fudge and Cruz were overjoyed when he let the latter through.

Fudge grinned. "Hello again!" The two of them hugged. "You came back!"

"Well, yeah! Mr. McQueen called me."

"Then let's go! Is it okay if I get a ride back?"

"Sure. Come on!"

So, Fudge got onto Cruz's roof and they made their way back to the pits.

* * *

"_Well, the green light's on, pit road is open and everybody's comin' in!_" Darrell Cartrip announced.

"Get ready, guys!" Lightning called to his team as he made his way to the pits. "Luigi, Guido, tyres! Fillmore, fuel!"

That was when Cruz showed up with Fudge.

"Okay, I'm here!" Cruz announced as Fudge slid off her roof.

"What's going on?" the two asked in unison.

Luckily, Lightning showed up to give them the answer to all of their questions. Guido rushed forward to change his tyres while Fillmore tried to fill him up with gas, but the stock car stopped them.

"No, not _me_!" he cried. He pointed to Cruz. "_Her_!"

Everyone gasped, turning to look at the yellow car.

"What?" she asked, shocked and confused.

"Cruz!" Fudge exclaimed excitedly, hugging her best friend. She was so happy for her!

"What is _she_ doing back here?" Sterling demanded.

"Come on, guys! Get her set up! Quickly!" Lightning ordered.

Just like that, everyone sprang into action. Guido changed Cruz's tyres into Lightyear racing tyres and Fillmore started filling her up with fuel. Fudge was checking that Cruz was physically ready for the race. She was examining everything from tyre pressure to oil pressure to her engine. Everything was happening so fast. Cruz just stood by in confusion.

"Wait! What's happening?" Cruz questioned.

"Hey! Ramone!" Lightning called out. "Got your paints?!"

The Lowrider grinned as he rose up on his hydraulics. "You know I do!"

"Wait! Guys! What are you doing?" Cruz demanded.

"_Man, I don't understand it_", Darrell Cartrip commented. "_McQueen's just sittin' there!_ _Somethin's gotta be wrong!_"

"Mr. McQueen?" were the only words to come out of Cruz's mouth, but she was clearly wanting an explanation.

So, Lightning provided her with one. "Today's the day, Cruz! You're getting your shot!"

"_What_?!" Cruz yelped utterly disbelievingly.

"I started this race and you're gonna finish it."

"What?!" Sterling had heard the plan and wanted to put a stop to it. "She'll damage the brand! She's _just a trainer_!"

"No! She's a racer", Lightning corrected him. With a smile at Cruz, he added, "Just took me a while to see it."

Cruz didn't know what to say. At least, until she looked around at all of the other racers. She couldn't compete with _them_! "I can't do this! I can't!" Then she had an idea, catching sight of Blake Fitzgibbons racing with Rich Mixon; Joey Sparks riding with Danny Swervez and Flick Turner stood by Cam Spinner (they were out of the race after the wreck). She'd feel better with some support right there, out on the track with her. "Not on my own! I... I need a rider!"

"Where are we gonna find-" Lightning began.

At that moment, Fudge came past, checking the pressure in Cruz's front tyres. That shifted Lightning's thoughts to Fudge. He thought about all of the times, ever since she was very young, she would give him tips through a headset while he was running practise laps. He didn't ask her to; it was just something she took upon herself in order to help him. He remembered how much she'd helped him through races in the past. Not only that, but she, too, loved every second of being out on the track. Maybe he hadn't seen her face while she was racing in four years (he'd been unable to see her in the woods because it was dark and she was way ahead of him for most of that), but he could still picture it vividly. He even thought about how much it had broken her heart every time he refused to let her race. Like Cruz, Fudge had potential, but also like Cruz, she had doubts about herself.

"_You need someone who's focused, there one hundred per cent and can do the job well_", Fudge had told him, "_and it's not like I can be a racer myself... Your accident may have ended_ _your career... Mine ended mine before it even started._"

Lightning was anxious. He was hesitant. But he knew it was the right thing to do. So...

Lightning grinned at Cruz. "I think that can be arranged!"

Fudge whipped around, having heard what Lightning said. "What are you-" she began, puzzled.

He grinned some more and raised an eye frame, hoping Fudge would get the hint.

She did. "What?! No! I... I can't!"

"You can and you _will_!" the stock car insisted. He thrust the sixteen-year-old's magnetic belt, gloves, shoulder and knee pads at her. "Now, get those magnets on!"

"Yes, sir!" Fudge obeyed in a shaky voice, putting her headset on.

"You're okay with this, right?" Lightning quizzed Luigi and Guido.

After a brief pause, they both nodded. They were nervous about her getting hurt again, but neither of them could deny their daughter had potential.

"Okay!" Lightning boomed out to the others. "Let's get Fudge suited up too!"

"Fudge!" Sammy squealed, hugging her just as she had done to Cruz moments earlier.

"Fudge!" Cruz exclaimed. "You're coming with me! That's great!"

Everyone turned around, both stunned and excited to see Fudge would be racing too before doing what Lightning said. Sarge began helping Fudge into the shoulder and knee pads before covering her glasses with goggles. Sally took off Fudge's necklace, giving it to Lightning. Now, Fudge was just as shocked, overwhelmed and excited as Cruz was. She was too shocked to even protest as butterflies settled in her stomach.

"I can't believe you're letting that glorified intern race too!" Sterling yelled.

Fudge couldn't believe it either. "Sammy!" she cried. "Can't _you_ do it?!" She knew her half-sister had a lot of racing knowledge, growing up in Thomasville.

Sammy shook her head. "I can, but I _won't_. This is your time, kiddo. You're a racer."

Lightning nodded. "She's right, Fudge", he insisted, leaving Fudge was just as speechless as Cruz. "Someone, tie Fudge's hair back!" Lightning ordered his friends. He would've done _that_ himself if he could. He could wash and brush Fudge's hair, but that was it; he didn't know _how_ to tie it up.

"I got it!" Sammy produced a rubber band and began tying Fudge's hair up in a ponytail.

"Do we have a helmet for Fudge?!" Sarge wanted to know.

"Here. Take mine." Sammy thrust her old white racing helmet at the teenager. She wasn't a professional racer and never had been, but she'd raced with the Legends a couple of times. "It's a little old, but it should be just fine."

Fudge wasn't sure why her sister had the helmet with her, but wasn't about to question it. "Thank you!"

She put it on over her headset and, after finishing one of Cruz's sides, Ramone hurried over to spray paint a quick FUDGE 95 RUST-EZE onto it. It may have been a fast job, but it looked awesome! Ramone's artwork always did.

Sterling tried another tactic, clearly desperate to put a stop to this absurd idea. "That can't be legal!"

Smokey, who had been famous back in the day for bending the rules, jumped in. "The rules only say the _number_ has to be out there. Doesn't say who has to wear it."

"No, you can't _do_ that-" Sterling cried, jumping as Mater's tow hook grabbed hold of him, pulling him back.

"Hey! Did I ever tell you how much I love your mud flaps?" Mater asked Sterling, blocking his path to Cruz.

"Out of my way, bumpkin!" the silver car ordered, but whenever he tried to move, the tow truck would shuffle in front of him.

"Yeah, I got my fishin' flaps, got my church flaps, my goin' out to eat flaps", Mater rambled on, blocking Sterling.

"I don't feel right about taking this race away from you..." Fudge declared worriedly while all that was going on. Although, despite not wanting to do that and her fears of racing again, Fudge _so_ wanted to be in the race. Her heart did, but her head wasn't sure.

"Fudge, you told me in the trailer that no matter what happened in this race, you'd be happy as long as _I_ was happy", Lightning reminded her. "Well, _this_ is what would make me happy. Besides, you've spent the last two weeks trying so hard to make Cruz and me happy and, well, I think it's time you did something to make yourself happy."

Fudge beamed. Then she stopped. "But what if I get hurt again?" Several months ago, she thought if she had the chance to race again, she would've taken it without a nanosecond of hesitation. However, now that the moment was here, she was afraid.

"Look, I wanna take care of you and I promise I always will as much as I can", Lightning informed her, "but if you really wanna race, that's a risk you're just gonna have to take." He looked her deep in the eyes. "You're a racer too, Fudge-O! But for a long time, I ignored that. _Too_ long. You deserve to get your shot as much as Cruz does!"

Just like that, Fudge's smile returned.

* * *

By that point, all of the other racers were lining up, ready to restart the race, which meant that Team 95 were scrambling to get Cruz and Fudge ready.

"Come on, guys!" Lightning urged. "We gotta get 'em out there! Let's go!"

"Tyres, check!" Luigi hollered.

"Fuel, check!" Fillmore added.

"Fudge is ready to go!" Sally reported, making sure the helmet was secure.

Lightning was satisfied so far. That just left one little thing...

"Ramone?!"

"Uh... Best I could do in the time frame, boss", Ramone answered.

He reversed back to reveal that Cruz had her name, the word RUST-EZE and the number 95 blazing across her sides. She looked _epic_!

"That looks _awesome_!" Fudge exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Lightning was equally impressed. "That'll work." Then he added, "Come here, Fudge-O", as he began helping her up onto Cruz's roof by letting him climb onto his hood first. Fudge almost slid, prompting her to let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, I'm off to a great start aren't I?!" the sixteen-year-old girl proclaimed humorously, righting herself.

"Why are you doing this?" Cruz wondered as Fudge attached her magnets. "You said it yourself: This might be your last chance."

"Which makes it my last chance to give you and Fudge your _first_ chance, Cruz", he pointed out. "And this time, I want you to take it."

"They gotta beat that pace car out!" Smokey reminded them.

"No, no, no! You can't _do_ that!" Sterling yelled.

"Now or never!" Smokey urged them.

Now or never. Fudge's heart pounded at those words. So did Cruz's.

"Come on!" Sammy urged the girls. "We don't want you to miss out and end up regretting it."

"What do you say?" Lightning quizzed them.

Cruz looked up at the human girl. "Fudge?"

Fudge took a deep breath. "Let's do it and have no regrets!"

"I was hoping you'd say that! Because I don't wanna do this without you!" On those words, Cruz rocketed off.

"Whoa! Hey!" Lightning called after her. "Thirty-five mile per hour pit speed!"

"I knew that!" Cruz hollered, making her way to join the other racers on the track.

"Me too!" Fudge chimed in.

"**GO, FUDGIE**!" Luigi squealed on their way out of the pits.

"(Good luck, my baby girl!)" Guido added.

"Go, Fudge!" Sammy cheered. "Go, Cruz!"

"Come on, Cruz! Come on, Fudge! You show 'em what you got!" Lightning called after them.

Both Cruz and Fudge took deep breaths.

"This is it", Fudge murmured anxiously.

Cruz gave a nervous smile as they approached the track. "No regrets!"

**Whaaaaat?! Fudge is racing with Cruz?! That's a huge surprise to... nobody. I'm sure you all knew I was going to do that! I hope you liked it anyway! :)**

**Now, for da quiz question. Pay very close attention to the wording of this one: ****In _Life Could Be a Dream_, who won the Lightning vs Doc race?**

**And hey! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter! I was really excited to show you guys!**


	33. Through the Pack

**Correct answer to the quiz question is... Fudge! I said to pay attention to the wording because Doc may win in the movie, but Fudge wins the race in _Life Could Be a Dream_!**

**Anyway, I'm glad you guys seemed to like the last chapter. I kind of like it myself. I'm hoping you'll find this chapter just as awesome. I mean, I do. How is Fudge going to fare in the Florida 500? Read on and find out...**

**(By the way, I borrowed a motivational speech from- surprise, surprise- _The Internship_. I changed the dialogue a little bit to fit the scene better, but the basic point is the same.)**

**Chapter 33- Through the Pack**

"_Lightning McQueen's team has entered a different car and a human sporting the 95!_" Bob Cutlass announced in confusion.

"_I_ _don't believe what I'm seeing!_" Darrell Cartrip exclaimed.

"_And it appears that the human crew chief is none other than Lightning McQueen's former crew chief, Fudge Rossi-Topolino!_" Bob observed.

"_I have_ never _seen_ this _before!_" Darrell went on. "_Is this move even legal?_"

Both he and Bob looked to the producers as if to ask what they should do. The producers just signalled for them to continue as usual.

"_Well, there's no doubt this is a Piston Cup first_", Bob obliged. "_And a risky move on McQueen's part. Let's hope it's a risk that pays off._"

"_You know, at sixteen years of age, I think Fudge Rossi-Topolino is the youngest person to make it into the Piston Cup series!_" Darrell Cartrip commented admiringly.

* * *

"_You're watching this, right?_" Ray Reverham radioed to Jackson Storm.

"What? The girls in the _costumes_?!" he asked incredulously. "You're kidding me! He put _them_ in the race?!"

Then Storm shrugged with a cocky smirk. _It doesn't matter to me if it's the old-timer or the wannabe race car and four-eyed baby, who thinks she's so cool, _he thought to himself._ I don't care which of them I beat._

* * *

In the stands, the Legends were surprised by what was happening. Happy, but surprised. They smiled, remembering Fudge and Cruz telling them about their doubts as racers. Now, they hoped that the two of them would get the chance to prove to themselves that they could be racers.

"Come on, Cruz! Come on, Fudge!" Louise cheered for her fellow women as they approached the track.

* * *

Back in Radiator Springs, Sheriff and Red's eyes widened at the sight of an unfamiliar yellow car and human girl taking Lightning's place in the race.

"What's he _doin'_?" Sheriff wondered. "Why's he givin' up his last chance?!"

Red shrugged. Sheriff's guess was as good as his.

All of a sudden, Sheriff realised that the human wasn't so unfamiliar after all.

"Is that _Fudge?_!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

Red did a double take, staring at the TV in astonishment. Sheriff was right; it _was_ Fudge.

Sure enough, Bob Cutlass confirmed it just then. "_And it appears that the human crew chief is none other than Lightning McQueen's former crew chief, Fudge Rossi-Topolino!_"

"Hey, Fudge!" Lizzie hollered abruptly. "Come look at this girl on the radio! She looks just like you!"

Red and Sheriff just chuckled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cruz and Fudge were at the back of the line of racers. It was all so overwhelming, what with the tall grandstands, the cheering crowd, the long line of racers in front of them, their fears and doubts. All of it made both of them feel so small.

"This is real!" Fudge repeated, trying to slow her breathing down. "This is happening!"

"We got this!" Cruz tried to sound strong, but she was just as nervous as her friend. "You and me. We got this."

* * *

Before they knew it, the green flag was being waved.

"_The green flag is out and we're back to racing!_" Bob Cutlass announced.

However, not exactly all of the racers were off and running. The sudden revving of everyone's engines made Fudge and Cruz yelp in surprise and jump.

"Holy crap!" Fudge exclaimed.

Fudge was only used to being that close to one or two fast, loud engines. The two were kind of in shock, so Cruz was driving at snail's pace and Fudge was just flopped on Cruz's roof silently, head down, unsure of what to do.

"_Cruz, what are you_ doin'_?_" Smokey radioed. "_Come on! Pick it up! Gotta go faster! And Fudge, what are _you_ doin'?! What kind of position is_ that_?! Lift your head up! You ain't gonna see anything with your head down like that!_"

"Oh, yeah!" Fudge recalled, correcting her position. She was a little shaken up by Smokey's tone; she wasn't used to being critiqued that harshly and all it did was make her beat herself up. "Just bear with me. I haven't done this for a few years, so I'm a little rusty!"

"_Th__at's better! Now, Cruz! Pick it up!_"

Lightning had an idea. "Okay. C- Call her Frances Beltline and tell her the... the School Bus of Death is after her!"

Smokey had no idea what that meant. "What? No!"

"Trust me!" Lightning insisted.

Fudge and Cruz heard Smokey's voice come through the radio, sounding more like a question than advice. "_Uh? Frances Beltline? The School Bus of Death is after you._"

"What?" Cruz asked, confused. Then it clicked. "Oh. Uh- Uh-huh. Right." She picked up her speed.

"_Okay. That was different_", Smokey proclaimed. Then he added, "_Fudge, I haven't heard you say anything yet. Come on. You gotta talk to Cruz! Help her!_"

"I know!" Fudge responded. "I'm just nervous!" On top of that, Smokey's critical tone certainly wasn't helping matters. She knew it was his job, but it did nothing to calm her nerves.

"_Yeah, well,_ don't _be!_"

"Yeah, _that_ helps!" Fudge mumbled sarcastically. What was Smokey thinking would happen if he said that? She'd be like, _Doy! I'm not nervous at all anymore! Thanks for telling me not to be, Smokey!_

"Don't be so harsh on Fudge", Lightning cautioned.

"I gotta be!" Smokey grumbled. "She ain't gonna learn if I'm too gentle on her."

"Well, just watch the tone. She can get a little sensitive. She's just gonna beat herself up if you're too tough on her."

Before Smokey could answer, he noticed something else. "_Cruz, you're looking too tight now!_" The yellow car was super tense and it was affecting her speed. "_Come on! Loosen up!_"

"Tell her she's a fluffy cloud!" Lightning instructed.

"What? No!" Smokey repeated.

"Smokey, tell her!" Lightning urged.

"_Uh, Cruz?_" Smokey radioed. "You are a... fluffy cloud?"

"Oh! Right! Too tight!" Cruz realised. "_I am a fluffy cloud, I am a fluffy cloud..._"

Amazingly (to Smokey, anyway), it worked! Cruz loosened up and managed to pick up her speed even more.

"Okay, Cruz", Fudge began nervously. "What I need you to do is-"

"Oh, my gosh! Look how far ahead those racers are!" Cruz exclaimed abruptly. "We'll never catch them! Look at Storm! We're never going to beat _him_!"

"That's what I'm trying to talk to you about!" Fudge explained. "You should-"

"I can't do this!" Cruz cried. "I can't do this!"

"Cruz, listen to me!" Fudge tried again.

"What was I thinking?! I can't do this! I just can't!"

"_Fudge, Cruz, you're not listening to each other_", Smokey critiqued. This was something he'd been concerned about with putting Fudge and Cruz in the race together. He knew Cruz had potential and he knew Fudge had potential, but this was the first time they'd ever worked together and he wasn't sure of what the result would be, despite the fact that they were best friends. "_Come on now. This job is all about communication._"

"Tell them Fudge has the Voice Trophy!" Lightning suggested.

Smokey was puzzled yet again. "The what?"

"The Voice Trophy", Lightning repeated as if it made sense to everyone.

"_Uh... Fudge? You have the Voice Trophy?_" Smokey obliged.

"Right!" Fudge got into action; although, her voice was kind of shaky out of nerves. "Cruz, I need you to listen to me. We'll worry about Storm later in the race. Let's just try and overtake everyone else right now. We shouldn't overexert ourselves chasing down Storm so early into the race."

Cruz nodded. "Got it!"

"But right now", Fudge went on as they came out of a turn, "aren't you getting a little bit too close to the-"

"Whoa!" Cruz exclaimed, narrowly avoiding the wall and losing control. She skidded across the track, unable to drive in a straight line.

Luigi and Guido's eyes widened in horror, already fearing that something would happen to their precious baby girl.

"_Anticipate your turns!_" Smokey instructed. "_Cruz, Fudge, get your heads in the race!_"

"No, no, wait, wait!" Lightning jumped in and Smokey, who had learned to expect this by now, looked to him, thinking, _What's he gonna say_ this_ time?_ "Tell Cruz she's on a beach and... all the little crabbies have gone night-night!"

Smokey gave Lightning a _WTF_ look and decided that that was the final straw. He backed up off the crew chief stand. "No! I ain't sayin' that! _You_ tell her!"

"Fudge and I _did_ say he was senile!" Sammy reminded the pickup truck jokingly.

* * *

"_All right, Cruz, Fudge_", a familiar voice greeted the racers over their radios, "_the_ beach_. I need you to think of the beach!_"

"Mr. McQueen?!"

"Lightning?!"

Both Fudge and Cruz looked over at their pits, very happy to see Lightning climbing up onto the crew chief platform, wearing the headset. Not only was it comforting to see him up there and hear his voice, but it was comforting to receive some advice that didn't end in a question mark. They had heard Smokey say he refused to say something and they couldn't help but wonder what it was that made him throw in the towel.

"_Yeah, yeah, it's me_", he confirmed. "_Remember the beach._"

"Oh! Uh... Pick a line!" Cruz understood. "Stick to it! Got it!"

So, she picked a line on the track and stuck to it. That was when they started making progress. They started climbing up out of last place.

"_All right, Fudge_", Lightning shifted his attention to the human girl, "_I haven't heard you say a word either. Smokey's right. Your job is all about communication. You gotta talk to Cruz in order to help her. Come on. You're so good when you do it for me._"

"I know! I'm just nervous!" Fudge repeated. She felt a little more at ease now. She felt like Lightning was on her side, instead of yelling like she felt Smokey was. "If I'd have known I was gonna be doing this, I would've listened to the Get Psyched Mix on the way here." After a pause she added, "And I wouldn't have eaten that second hot dog at lunchtime."

"_What are you nervous about?_" Lightning quizzed her.

"Lots of things", she replied. "I'm scared of screwing this up and getting hurt again! If I get this wrong, I'll be letting Cruz down and if I get hurt, I'll have to go through all the pain and surgeries again and I-"

"_Okay, okay! Listen to me, Fudge-O!"_ Lightning stopped her. "_It's okay. I probably understand better than anyone what you've been through. I'm not surprised that you're afraid, but you know, life is like racing on the track. Sometimes, it's gonna throw you off the car's roof- break both your legs, smash your pelvis, maybe even break your heart._"

"I hope you're going somewhere with this", Fudge deadpanned.

"_But sometimes"_, Lightning went on, "_it's gonna give you a Piston Cup. Come on! You're from Radiator Springs! Born and raised! You can be tough! You exposed Miles Axlerod and his Allinol scandal! You walked again when the doctors said you wouldn't!_"

Fudge couldn't help smiling just a little. "I _did_ do that, didn't I." It was a statement, not a question.

"_Damn right you did!_" Lightning confirmed. "_So, you get your ass back on that car and you ride. You hear me, Brittney Angel Rossi-Topolino? Ride! Ride! Cruz is gonna look after you and so am I. You'll be fine_." Then remembering Doc, he added, "_Float like a Cadillac..._"

Fudge grinned. "Sting like a Beemer!" _Everything will be fine. I just gotta trust Cruz_, Fudge told herself. _Like how I trusted Junior on the midnight run._

Just like that, Fudge got back into crew chief mode with a little bit more confidence. "Okay. I don't think there's really anything we need to watch out for. I mean, there's the obvious tyre marbles and the other cars... I'll be sure to let you know if that changes at all."

Lightning laughed. "_Thanks, Fudge-O! All right! Not too bad!_" he praised both of them as they continued to make their way through the pack.

"This is nothing like the simulator!" Cruz declared.

"You're right", Fudge agreed. "This is real racing!"

"_Got every tool you need!_" Lightning assured Cruz. "_Now, remember Thomasville!_"

"Thomasville?" Cruz echoed.

"Yeah, sneak through the window!" Fudge and Lightning recited in unison.

"Now,_ that,_ I understand!" Smokey proclaimed from his spot next to the crew chief platform.

"Sneak through the window?" Cruz repeated.

She looked to the racer beside her and she visualised him as a tractor. All of a sudden, Cruz found herself and Fudge surrounded by tractors in racing paint jobs.

"You know what to do, don't you?" Fudge quizzed the racer.

"I sure do!" With a grin, she gunned it and weaved through the gaps between the racers.

"Okay!" Fudge called out. "There's a gap between those two ra- Yep. You got it!"

* * *

"_We're just learning that the racer replacing McQueen with Rossi is Cruz Ramirez!_" Bob Cutlass reported.

"_Th__is is her very first race!_" Darrell Cartrip added with the same admiration he'd used to inform viewers that Fudge was the youngest racer.

"_Actually, Darrell, it says here that she does have one win under her belt_", Natalie Certain corrected him. "_At a place called, uh... Thunder Hollow._"

* * *

"**THUNDER HOLLOW!**" Miss Fritter hollered back in the bar of said town. She and the others were thrilled to see their Frances Beltline and Joy "Rider" Sweet in the race. She tried to nudge the small car beside her, only for it to be a hard ram. "**SHE SAID THUNDER HOLLOW!**"

* * *

"_Try moving half a lane_", Lightning suggested. _"Half a lane!_"

"Got it!" Cruz confirmed, following his advice.

"Who's Elaine?" Fudge joked.

Although they were supposed to be focusing, Lightning let Fudge drop in a joke every now and then. He could tell it was helping her keep her cool a little. So, he just laughed at her joke.

"_All right. Watch that lap car. He's gonna go high. Go low, go low!_"

"Yeah, there's an opening right in front of us!" Fudge added.

Cruz weaved around the racer in front of her and overtook another one.

"_Nice job! You are _smoking_ these guys!_" Lightning exclaimed. "_Now, watch the tyre marbles along turn three! Keep your tyres clean!_"

"Okay!" Cruz comprehended.

"_Bump coming up on the inside!_" Lightning cautioned. "_Careful you don't go airborne._"

"Now?" Cruz wanted to confirm.

"_Yes, now_!"

Cruz and Fudge adjusted themselves, so the pair rode over the bump with no trouble at all. The racer behind them wasn't so lucky, though, jumping a little when they went over the bump.

"_Watch out by the wall; it's a little slick there!_" Lightning warned as Cruz got dangerously close to the wall. "_Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it!_"

As they neared the wall, skidding out of control a little, Fudge lifted her right leg up to prevent it from being crushed, should Cruz crash into the wall. Sure enough, Cruz's back end hit the wall with a yelp from the yellow car.

"_You have hit a wall!_" Lightning teased, imitating the simulator as Cruz straightened herself out. "_You have hit a wall!_"

"Ha-ha!" Cruz shot back sarcastically. "Just being aggressive!"

"Yeah, you're a frickin' comedian, aren't you, Lightning?!" Fudge chimed in.

"_I'd say I'm pretty funny, yes!_" he chuckled.

"Well, at least _we'r_e not on fire yet!" Fudge retorted.

Lightning laughed. "_Seriously, though, you didn't get your leg trapped, did you, Fudge?_"

"Nope!" she assured him. "I managed to move out of the way in time! Guess you're not the only one who's improved on their reflexes!"

Lightning laughed again. "_Guess being chased by the Evil Goose of Thomasville taught you a thing or two, huh?!_"

"Uh, _I'm_ not okay!" Cruz piped up. "My spoiler! It got detached when I hit the wall!"

Everyone looked to see one side of Cruz's spoiler had been freed from the screws.

"_All right_", Lightning radioed. "_I hate to have to do this now, but if you come into the pits, then we can-_"

"No need!" Fudge interrupted, reaching into her pocket. "I got it!" She was going to think on her feet and adapt to unusual situations just like Smokey had taught her.

Slowly and cautiously, she turned around on all fours, still on Cruz's roof and careful to keep her magnets attached (learning from a previous mistake, just like Smokey had taught her!). In her pocket, she still had a wrench (Violet, her special wrench, which she got for her eighth birthday) and some screws. She guessed she hadn't taken them out of her pocket when she entered the race.

"Be careful, Fudge!" Lightning and Cruz gasped in unison as the latter slowed down a little.

The sixteen-year-old grabbed hold of the side of Cruz's spoiler that had gotten detached and slid the screws into place. They nearly slid out and onto the track right away.

"Dammit!" Fudge groaned and, luckily, she was quick to catch them.

"_Fudge?_" Lightning radioed again. "_What's going on?_"

"Just give me a sec!" Fudge was pressing the palm of her hand into the holes to keep the screws there as well as the spoiler. Doing that, she managed to use her wrench to tighten the screws.

"Done!" Fudge cried triumphantly, turning around again, just as cautiously as the first time. "That feel okay, Cruz?"

"Hey!" Cruz exclaimed, impressed. "That feels good!"

The crowd went wild for that stunt.

"_I have never seen that before!_" Bob Cutlass declared, amazed. "_Fudge Rossi-Topolino has got to be one of the most talented riders in the history of racing!_"

"_When you got a rider crew chief, it's always comfortin' to know they've got good mechanical knowledge_", Darrell Cartrip chimed in. "A_nd Fudge Rossi-Topolino has absolutely delivered in that department. Cruz Ramirez sure can rest easy!_"

"_Fudge, that was_ unbelievable_!_" Lightning exclaimed.

"Way to go, Fudge!" Smokey hollered.

"Well done, my baby!" Luigi shouted.

"That was _awesome_!" Sammy declared. "Unorthodox, but impressive!"

Fudge blushed and grinned at their words and the crowd cheering for her. "Thanks!"

* * *

The race went on. It was beginning to get dark and Fudge, who would normally be tired by that time ever since the accident, just wasn't. How could she be tired when she was in her very first race? By that point, Cruz and Fudge managed to climb their way into fourteenth place. Fudge was excited! They were doing a great job, considering that they started late and in dead last.

"_Okay. I want you to pit!_" Lightning radioed to Cruz around about this point. "_Watch your RPM!_"

"Okay!" So, Cruz made her way towards the pits. However, she was going too fast, flying onto pit road.

"_Get out of the gas!_" Lightning called. "_On the brake, on the _brake!"

"Ah! Too fast!" Cruz cried as she raced past their pits.

"Where are you going?!" Fudge shouted with a laugh.

"Uh... We're back here!" Lightning informed her.

"Sorry!" Cruz rolled back, allowing Guido to change her tyres and Fillmore to load her up with fuel while Sammy stuck a bottle of water in Fudge's face, which she drank from.

"All right, pick 'em off one at a time", Lightning instructed them. "Go, go, go!"

Cruz didn't hesitate to obey, shooting out onto the track again.

"Someone's behind us!" Fudge reported, turning around to get a brief glimpse of another racer gaining on them quickly.

Luckily, Cruz saw an opening between two other cars and went for it.

"_That's it! Nice and straight_!" Lightning complimented as Cruz went around another car. "_Whoo-hoo! Go, go, go! Go!_" He looked down at the pickup truck and quizzed him, "Smokey, you watching?!"

Smokey just laughed. He was unable to believe that these were the same racers, who started too scared to even move. Lightning had done well. Beside him, Sally and Mater shared a smile. Of course, they were proud of Fudge and Cruz, but they were also proud of Lightning. This was the happiest they'd seen him in months! Lightning McQueen was back and better than ever!

Meanwhile, Fudge and Cruz were making their way through the pack at a nice and steady pace. Fudge was unable to wipe the huge smile off her face as she talked to Cruz.

"Another opening right th- That's it! Okay. Watch out for the tyre marbles!"

"_Just wanna let you know_", Ray Reverham radioed to Jackson Storm, "_Ramirez and Rossi are moving up towards you._"

Storm scoffed. "Why should _I_ care?!"

"_Because now, they're in the top ten!_"

"_Okay_", Lightning radioed to Cruz and Fudge at the same time as Ray spoke to Storm, "_now you're coming up on the leaders!_"

"No pressure or anything", Fudge murmured anxiously.

"_Don't worry. I know both of you can do this!_" Lightning assured her.

They knew what to do. Cruz waited for the right moment before she overtook the car in fourth place.

"_Ramirez and Rossi up to fourth!_" Ray Reverham reported.

"In fourth?" Storm echoed. "Huh!"

However, everyone else seemed pretty excited by that.

"_Guys, this is_ unbelievable_!_" Lightning exclaimed excitedly. "_Keep this up and you're in for a top five finish!_"

"How awesome would _that_ be?" Fudge mused, relaxing her position on the car a little as she thought about it.

"_A__ll right. Well, don't start daydreaming about it now_", Lightning reminded her. "_You and Cruz have got a job to do_."

"Roger that." Fudge readjusted her position.

"Whee-hoo!" Mater hollered so loud that even Fudge and Cruz themselves could hear him. "Git R done!"

"**THERE YOU GO, GIRLS!**" Smokey yelled.

"**GO, FUDGIE!**" Luigi squealed.

"Way to go, girls!" Sammy added.

As if things weren't great enough, at that moment, Cruz overtook the car in third place as well.

"**YES!"** Fudge shrieked gleefully. They were so close to catching Storm and it was so exciting!

"_Ramirez and Rossi are in third!_" Ray Reverham informed his driver meanwhile.

That was when Storm decided that it was time for action. He slid back, allowing Danny Swervez and Joey Sparks, who were in second place, to take the lead and lined himself up with Cruz and Fudge.

"What are you doing, Storm?" Lightning murmured to himself.

"What do _you_ want?!" Fudge snapped.

"Hey!" Storm exclaimed in a mock friendly voice. "Costume Girls! You know, at first, I thought you were out here because your GPS was broken."

"_Don't listen to him, guys!_" Lightning instructed them.

"I'm trying!" Fudge responded.

"You look good", Storm went on. "It's important to look the part. You can't have everyone thinking that you don't deserve to be here."

_"He's trying to get in your heads!_" Lightning explained to the two young women.

"They don't need to know what you and I already do", Storm informed Fudge and Cruz. "That you can play dress up all you want, but neither of you will _ever_ be one of us! The car can't do this alone and the human's just a four-eyed baby who thinks she's cool enough to keep up with the cars! Why don't you two pretty girls just leave the racing to the professionals?"

With those words, he drove off to take back the lead with no effort whatsoever. Cruz slowed down, reflecting on his words.

Fudge did the same thing as she groaned. "What a _douche_!"

"_Guys, did you see what happened there?_" Lightning quizzed them.

"Yeah", Cruz sighed. "He- He's in... He's in my head."

"Mine too", Fudge chimed in. "Is he right?"

"_No!_" Lightning cried hurriedly. "No_! Listen to me! You've gotten into _his_ head! Don't you understand?! He would never have _done _that if you didn't scare him!_"

"What?" Cruz voiced the confusion for both of them.

"_He sees something in you both that you don't even see in yourselves!_" their crew chief clarified. "_You made _me_ believe it! Now, _you've_ gotta believe it too_!"

"Believe what?" Fudge questioned, puzzled.

"_You are _racers_!_" Lightning insisted. After a pause, he added, "_Use that!_"

While the girls let these words sink in, they heard the rest of the team chime in with their encouragement.

"_You can do this! You are both excellent racers!_" (That was Luigi.)

"_We believe in you, man!_" (Fillmore.)

"_Go make us proud!_" (Smokey.)

"_You've come this far! You can go all the way!_" (Sally.)

"_Show that turdwagon who he's messing with! You go, girls!_" (Sammy.)

There was a moment of silence as the two heard the kind words of their friends and/or family. Finally, each of them felt a smile spread across their faces slowly and a warm, fuzzy feeling mix in with their nerves and excitement. They knew they could do this.

Fudge glanced at the Jumbotron, which highlighted the number of laps the racers had done. "We only have three laps to go", she observed, grinning at Cruz. "You ready to give those three laps everything we've got?"

Cruz returned the grin, gunning forward determinedly. "Three laps to catch Storm? I'm ready if you are, partner!"

Fudge nodded seriously and also full of determination. "Absolutely!" the sixteen-year-old confirmed. "**LET'S GO, TEAM 95!**"

**So, that's how Fudge fares in the Florida 500. Well, most of it, anyway. We've still got another chapter to go of the actual race. I hope you're all excited for that.**

**I put in the part about Cruz's spoiler getting detached as a way of showing you guys what skills Fudge has and have her do something awesome in the race. I hope you liked it!**

**Please give me your thoughts/comments!**

**Oh! I almost forgot! This chapter's question: What are the names of Fudge's biological parents?**


	34. Racers!

**Correct answer is... River Rose and Dawn Hathaway! I was really only chasing first names, so good job, guys!**

**Personally, I think this chapter and the next one are pretty adorable. I'm hoping you all think so too!**

**Chapter 34- Racers!**

"And how far back are they _now_?!" Jackson Storm quizzed his crew chief smugly not long later.

"_Look! Behind you!_" was Ray's response.

"What?!" Storm did as he was told to find Cruz right behind him, so close that they were almost touching.

"Hi!" Fudge waved, giggling.

"Good evening, Storm!" Cruz greeted him mischievously.

"Wait! How did you-"

"Just back here drafting on your butt!" Cruz continued. "Nothing to be concerned about!"

As the two raced past the pits, they could see their friends and family looking proud and excited. Guido was even jumping up and down!

"_Like two June bugs on a summer night!_" Lightning chimed in while Smokey laughed.

Fudge laughed too and, remembering their conversation in Thomasville, added in a mock serious voice, "Credit to Junior 'Midnight' Moon!"

"When do you want me to break out the dandelions?" Cruz quizzed Fudge. That was the code that she, Fudge and Lightning had agreed on a few minutes prior for when they wanted to overtake Storm. I think you can guess that the code was in honour of a certain goose and his favourite treat! Plus, Smokey was relieved that he got the reference on that one as well!

"When we're ready, I'll let you know!" Fudge assured the yellow car.

The trio shifted from one line to another, which just pissed Storm off more and more.

Cruz laughed. Then she called out, "Hey! Hamilton!"

"_Hamilton here!_"

"Call out our speed!" Cruz requested.

"_Two hundred and eight miles per hour, two hundred and seven miles per hour!_" Hamilton reported.

Fudge laughed. Not only was this amusing to her, but she still thought that Hamilton giving speeds sounded weird when it wasn't followed by, "_Out of range, out of range, out of_ _range!_"

"Would you _stop_ that?!" Storm barked. "You're taking me off my line!"

"_Last lap!_" Lightning sang.

"Come on, girls!" Smokey added.

"You go, girls!" Sammy cheered them on.

"**GO, FUDGIE!**" Luigi repeated.

Fudge sucked in a deep breath as they crossed the line with the white flag waving. All of their hard work came down to this. She was ready. "Let's go, Cruz!"

"Uh-oh!" Cruz cried abruptly in a teasing tone. She was still drafting on Storm. "My GPS is saying we have _slow_ traffic in our way!"

"_Ohhh_!" Fudge exclaimed. "Roasted!"

"No, no, no, no!" Storm shouted. "You are not winning this!"

"Ah! You're angry!" Cruz exclaimed.

"I am _not_ angry!" Storm argued.

"You know", Cruz informed him, "you can use that anger to push through!"

"**I SAID I'M NOT ANGRY!**" Storm yelled.

Fudge laughed again. She had said the exact same thing in the exact same tone so many times before.

"Now, Cruz!" the sixteen-year-old shouted. "Time to break out the dandelions!"

Cruz didn't need to be told twice. She moved over to try and overtake Storm.

"Oh, I don't think so!" he shouted, also moving over to block her.

So, Cruz shifted back over to the other side, the one closest to the wall.

"No!" Storm yelled, slamming Cruz into the wall with a yelp from the yellow car.

"_Fudgie!_" Fudge heard both her fathers gasp.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she assured them hurriedly.

Luckily, Fudge managed to lift both of her legs out of the way in time again to avoid being crushed by either Storm or the wall, but Cruz was being dragged up against the wall for what felt like a long time. She was clearly in pain and sparks flew up behind her. Fudge had to raise her arm to prevent the sparks from hitting her in the face. Thank Chrysler she was wearing her goggles.

"_Cruz, get out of there!_" Lightning shouted, horrified.

For a moment, Fudge doubted that that would happen. _How is she gonna get out of here?_ she wondered. Then the human girl stopped and thought about the story Smokey told in Thomasville and the video she'd watched on the way to Florida that morning. Another slow grin formed on her face. She had an idea!

"Cruz! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?!"

"_What?!_" Lightning demanded in a panic. "_What are you thinking?!_"

Cruz grinned, knowing exactly what she was saying. "Yes I am! Hold on!"

So, Fudge got into a better position for Cruz to do what must be done.

"Oh, my gosh! This is gonna be so crazy!" Cruz exclaimed.

"I'm okay with crazy!" Fudge assured her.

"What's crazy is that the old timer put you in this race! You don't belong on this track!" Storm yelled at Cruz and Fudge. "_Either_ of you!"

Cruz took a deep breath. "Yes... we... _**DO**_**!**" she and Fudge cried simultaneously.

On the last word, Cruz pushed off the wall to flip over Storm just as Doc had done to another racer all those years ago!

* * *

Time seemed to stand still for everyone who witnessed it. For what felt like a long time, Cruz and Fudge were upside-down in the air with a shower of sparks still behind them. Just about everyone had wide eyes and bated breath, watching them. When Lightning had heard Fudge ask Cruz if she was thinking the same thing as she was, he'd had no idea what she was talking about. Now, he could see the incredible move Smokey had described right in front of him. He was amazed! (Even too amazed to worry about Fudge falling off and getting hurt again!) So were the Legends, who hadn't seen this move exhibited in over sixty years. Even so, they could tell it was just as impressive the second time around.

* * *

Storm, on the other tyre, wasn't so impressed. He had no idea what they were doing, but it didn't look good for him, which was all he cared about.

* * *

As for Cruz and Fudge, it was as if the whole world had melted away. Both of them were in the air. They each felt a rush of exhilaration and adrenaline neither of them had ever felt before. For a brief moment, Fudge closed her eyes. Then she opened them to find the whole world upside-down. It felt like they were never going to come down.

* * *

Yet, they did. Cruz landed on the other side of Storm and zipped across the finish line ahead of him!

"_I don't believe it!_" Bob Cutlass declared. "_It's Cruz Ramirez and Fudge Rossi-Topolino for the_ _win!_"

"_**I AM SPEECHLESS!**_" Darrell Cartrip exclaimed.

Even with the checkered flag waving in front of them, the fireworks raining over the stadium and the cheering fans, it didn't seem real to the two racers.

"_Whoo-hoo!_" they heard Lightning cheer through the radio.

"_Git R done!_" Mater added.

"_Fudgie! You have won your first race!_" That was Luigi. "_Congratulations, my little angel!_"

"_Way to go, ladies! You did it! You gave that moron a good lesson!_" That was Sammy.

That was when Cruz started grinning. That had just happened! They'd done it! They had just won their very first race! Fudge, however, felt a strange sense of calm wash over her. It was probably because the weight of their amazing feat hadn't sunken in yet.

"Oh, my God!" the human girl cried. "Did that just _happen_?!"

"_You better believe it!_" Lightning confirmed.

It sure did happen and so many people were going wild for it.

* * *

"**CRUZ RAMIREZ!**" Maddy McGear cheered. "**FUDGE ROSSI-POPPOLEE!**" _Rossi-Topolino_ was hard for someone so young to say. It had taken even Fudge herself a while to get the hang of it too!

"**YAY, FUDGE!**" Summer whooped, overjoyed to have a fellow human girl win the race.

* * *

"Way to go, Cruz and Fudge!" Louise Nash hollered.

* * *

"**WHOO! YES!**" Miss Fritter screamed back in Thunder Hollow.

"Way to go, Frances Beltline and Joy Sweet!" Roxy Rocket cheered.

"**GO, SWEETHEART!**" Wild Wes hollered.

"Who would've thought Sweetheart had it in her?" Fire mused.

"_I_ did!" Ice insisted. "She's pretty gutsy!"

Benny just clapped and whistled loudly.

* * *

"Whoo-hoo!" Lizzie whooped back in Radiator Springs as Red cried. Maybe the race hadn't gone the way they imagined, but in the end, they were happy one of their own had won!

* * *

In Thomasville, Herman flapped his wings and honked excitedly. His mouth looked like he was smiling.

* * *

"_Man!_" Darrell Cartrip commented, watching Cruz and Fudge take a victory lap from the booth. "_Heckuva win!_"

"Yeah", Natalie Certain agreed softly. "Heckuva win."

* * *

Only not everyone was so happy.

"NO!" Jackson Storm wailed. "_I_ should be the winner! They're not even real racers!"

"_Relax, Storm!_" Ray radioed to him. "_Can't win 'em all. We'll just have to get 'em next time._"

That wasn't what Storm wanted to hear. He just parked there, growling and revving his engine as hard as he could, not saying anything.

* * *

"Oh, my gosh!" Fudge couldn't help exclaiming, even though it _still_ hadn't sunken in for her yet. "I've always dreamed of this moment!"

With a soft smile on her face, Fudge remembered a moment from back in Radiator Springs when she was four years old...

* * *

_Four-year-old Fudge was running around and around and around the Leaning Tower_ _of Tyres._

"_Last lap!" she cried __ecstatically as she ran around one final time. When she made her way_ _round, she shouted excitedly, "I win! I_ win_!" She jumped up and down._

"_What is going on?" Luigi wondered as he came outside with Guido. "Are you okay, Fudge?"_

"_Yes! Luigi, I_ won_!"_

"_What? What did you win?"_

"_I won a race! I won my first race!"_

"_Did you?" Luigi beamed as did Guido. "Go, Fudgie!_"

"_I am the best racer the world's ever seen!" the four-year-old human girl declared, throwing_ _her arms in the air triumphantly._

"_(I am sure you are!)" Guido picked her up and gave her a big kiss._

"_Congratulations, my little angel!" Luigi added, giving her a kiss on his own._

"_Thanks!" The four-year-old Fudge beamed with pride, feeling so happy,_

* * *

Well, if Fudge thought winning that race felt good, it was nothing compared to winning the Florida 500 as a sixteen-year-old. She felt like she'd not only made herself, her family, her friends, Cruz and even Doc proud. She felt like she'd even made her four-year-old self proud. _That_ felt super.

Cruz stared all around her dreamily. The monitors all around highlighted number 95 as the winner! "Listen to the crowd cheering!" she murmured almost subconsciously.

"They're cheering for _you_!" Fudge proclaimed.

"No", Cruz corrected her softly. "They're cheering for _us_!"

"Me?" Fudge questioned. "I didn't do anything!"

"Fudge, you helped make my dreams come true!" Cruz pointed out to her best friend. "There's no way I could've done this without you! I think we make a pretty good team! Thank you." She paused and added, "I'm proud to call myself your friend."

Fudge grinned. "I'm proud to call myself _your_ friend too! _You_ made _my_ dream come true!"

* * *

The private moment between the two ended as their fellow racers approached them to congratulate the pair.

"Hey, Cruz, Fudge! You were flyin'!" Danny Swervez complimented sincerely.

"Thanks!" the two racers chorused.

"You got some mad skills, Fudge!" his human crew chief, Joey Sparks, added, reaching out to give Fudge a high-five. "You too, Cruz!"

"Thanks!" they repeated in unison, getting the feeling that they would be saying that a _lot_ that night.

"You really had it rolling today!" Chase Racelott chimed in, pounding Cruz's tyre.

"That was cool!" Ryan "Inside" Laney put in, also giving Cruz a pound on the tyre.

"Thank you!"

The other human crew chiefs, Flick Turner and Blake Fitzgibbons, ran up to Fudge. "Nice racin' out there, kid!" Flick congratulated. She high-fived the girl.

"You were great, guys!" Blake chimed in. He, too, gave the young human girl a high-five.

"Thanks!"

"Hey, Cruz!" Bubba Wheelhouse teased. "Your blinker's on!"

"It is?" Cruz checked and groaned. "You got me! Very funny!"

Fudge giggled. "We're gonna be getting a lot of that now", she warned Cruz. "That's what racers do!"

"Racers!" Cruz repeated softly, liking the way the word sounded. "We're racers now!"

The human girl grinned, although it still didn't feel real to her. "I guess we are!"

* * *

At the same moment, both young women looked over towards the pits at the car responsible for their win that day. He had taken off his headset and was off the crew chief platform. He had come forward, smiling proudly at them. He was happier for them than he would have ever been winning the race himself. As he saw the look on Fudge's face, for the first time since he'd known her, Lightning didn't see her as his baby sister (though to some extent, he always would). In that moment, he saw her as a strong young woman. He saw her as a racer.

Neither Cruz nor Fudge came right out and said thank you- not right then, anyway- but, based on the smiles on each of their faces, he could tell that was exactly what they meant. Just like how they knew, based on the look on _his_ face, he couldn't be more proud of either of them.

"**RAMIREZ! ROSSI!**" a fan in the stands yelled loudly.

The two winners looked at the electric stadium, who had begun chanting their names, "Cruz, Fudge, Cruz, Fudge!"

"Go ahead!" Lightning instructed them. "Give 'em some smoke!"

Laughing all the way, Cruz did some donuts, sending up a circular trail of smoke.

"**YEAH!**" Fudge screamed.

When Cruz came to a stop, neither she nor Fudge could stop coughing due to the smoke. Fudge rolled off Cruz's roof to get down, but she stumbled a little and was unable to walk in a straight line, dizzy from all of the spinning.

Lightning chuckled, approaching them. "You'll get used to that!"

Fudge giggled. "I hope so!"

"Oh! My angel!" Luigi cried.

The Fiat raced forward with Guido and the latter picked their daughter up. He held her close to him and gave her a big kiss. "(Congratulations, angel!)"

"_Grazie_!"

Luigi hugged her while she was still in Guido's arms. "We are both so proud of you!" he whispered in her ear. "We love you so much!"

"Thanks, you guys! I love you both too!"

"Way to go, Sis!" Sammy hollered, picking her sister up and swinging her around. "Bet you're glad I didn't race _now_!"

Fudge laughed hysterically. "Thanks, Sammy!"

That was when they were followed by the rest of the Radiator Springs residents and Smokey. Fudge gave them all a warm smile. Although it still didn't feel real, she was happy to have won the race and there were no people with whom she wanted to celebrate more! In fact, just as she had done during her knighting ceremony in London five and a half years ago, when Fudge looked at her family beaming at her proudly, she could swear that she saw Doc there, smiling and looking just as proud as everyone else. Everyone began milling around Fudge and Cruz, congratulating them on their victory and giving Fudge hugs while the two just repeated, "Thanks!" over and over again.

"How was that?" Sarge quizzed Fudge as she removed her helmet and goggles.

"That was awesome!" Fudge exclaimed. "I'm actually pretty calm. I guess it hasn't sunken in yet."

"Dad-gum! That there flip thang you done did was so dad-gum unbelievable!" Mater commented.

"Well, we can thank Doc for that!" Fudge informed him, to which the RS gang all wondered, "Doc? Why Doc?"

"Hud- or Doc, as you called him- did the exact same thing over sixty years ago", Smokey explained. "I told these two ladies about it and I'm glad they listened."

Fudge smiled some more. "Thanks." That seemed to be her and Cruz's word of the night.

"_Doc_ did that?!" Sally asked in disbelief.

"Far out, man!" Fillmore added with wide eyes.

"Shoot! I can't imagine Doc doin' somethin' like that!" That was Mater.

"Hey, Smokey!" Fudge called out.

Smokey looked her way, anticipating a joke. "Yeah?"

"Who did it better?" the human girl teased, cracking everyone up.

However, the laughter was short-lived when someone ordered, "Out of my way! Come on! Move it! _Move_!"

It was Sterling. Nobody knew what he was going to say, but unless it was an apology, they didn't want to hear it.

**I love this part of the movie and I love this chapter! I hope you do too! Let me know!**

**This chapter's question: True or false. Fudge breaks her arm in the accident in _Ride_.**


	35. A Shared Victory

**First and foremost, I now have a request for the Q and A. No more questions asking if characters have seen certain movies/TV shows please. Don't feel bad if you've given me those; it's just I have too many and I can't really do anything with them if _I_ haven't seen them. I'll do what I can with the ones I already have, but no more please.**

**Next, the answer to the question is... False! Fudge breaks her collarbone, elbow, wrist and three fingers, but not her actual arm!**

**Like I said last time, I think this chapter has some adorable moments in it. I hope you agree...**

**Chapter 35- A Shared Victory**

"Cruz! Fudge!" Sterling exclaimed in a friendly voice and Fudge noted that this was the first time Sterling had called her by her name and not "you, whatever your name is". "I _knew_ you had something! And now look at you! Winners!"

"Winners?" Fudge repeated in pure disbelief and some disgust. "What happened to just a trainer and a glorified intern?!"

Sterling continued as if Fudge hadn't said a single word. "I could use you as racers on our team! We could make-"

"Sorry, Mr. Sterling", Cruz cut him off. "I would never race for you. I quit."

"Fine!" Sterling responded coolly. "Fudge, I can pair you with-"

"I'm not racing for you if Cruz isn't!" Fudge interjected firmly, but politely.

"Good for you!" Sammy gave the sixteen-year-old an affectionate punch in the shoulder.

Fudge nodded weakly. There was no chance she wanted to race for someone like that. Although, she was a little disappointed that that meant they couldn't race anymore.

Or so she thought. That was when she heard a familiar horn honk and a familiar friendly voice call out, "Well, then, race for _me_!"

"Tex!" Fudge and Lightning cried in unison, seeing the Cadillac approach with The King.

"Miss Cruz, Miss Fudge, I would be tickled pink to have you both race for Team Dinoco!" Tex began. "As you know, we have a long history of great racers. Except for Cal", he added teasingly with a wink.

"Uh... guys?" Cal piped up. "I'm still right here."

"Team Dinoco, guys!" Lightning exclaimed, grinning at Fudge and Cruz and nudging the latter.

"I know..." Fudge grinned excitedly as her eyes began to gleam.

"That's the best sponsor there is!" Sammy pointed out redundantly. Anybody who knew anything about racing knew that. She punched Fudge's shoulder again. "Lucky b**tards!"

"Luck has nothing to do with it", Lightning corrected her. "Those two deserve Dinoco."

Luigi hugged Fudge so tight that she almost choked. "My baby!" he shrieked. His eyes were filled with tears. "You have been offered the best sponsorship! I am so proud of you, my angel! So, so proud!" He kissed her forehead repeatedly.

"Do you want it?" Lightning quizzed the two racers with a smile. "I mean, I think you know what _I'd_ want, but it's absolutely your decision."

This was Lightning's dream and it seemed he wanted them to have it. Fudge knew exactly what _she_ wanted and turned to Cruz. "What do you say?"

"If you'll still be my rider crew chief, I'll take it. Either both of us race for Dinoco or neither of us does!"

"Of course I will." Fudge hugged Cruz, who hugged her back immediately. "Mr. Tex has been trying to get Lightning to race for him for years. I say it's about time we got someone from Radiator Springs on his side."

Everyone laughed.

Tex beamed. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"Although, it means we've got some big tyres to fill", Fudge mused.

"Really?" Cal asked.

"Not _you_!" Fudge gestured to The King (although he'd told her a million times to call him Strip, she always thought of him as The King).

"Don't worry about that." The King smiled at her. "You and Cruz make a new name for yourselves and your own legacy."

The human girl grinned. "I think we can do that!"

"We can and we _will_!" Cruz vowed.

"I think the racin' world better watch out", Tex commented.

"Hire them!" Sterling's voice came out high and not at all confident. "I don't care." He looked to what he thought was the one victory he could salvage from the situation. "Lightning. Now that you're _retired_, I need you first thing Monday morning for a photo shoot."

"Yeah, all right, Mr. Sterling", Lightning muttered.

"Lightning-" Fudge began.

"It's all right, Fudge", the stock car assured her, albeit a little unhappily.

"Whoa!" Smokey jumped in. "Hang on now!" He seemed to know something nobody else did.

Everyone turned their attention to the electronic monitors, which had Cruz Ramirez and Fudge Rossi-Topolino listed as the winners of the race. However, underneath their names and images, the word UPDATING was flashing.

"Updating?" Fudge read nervously. "What does it mean updating?"

They got their answer when the word UPDATING was replaced with an image of Lightning McQueen and his name. He was listed as their co-winner! That prompted the crowd to start cheering again.

"What? Why is my name up there?" Lightning wondered.

"You started the race", Smokey explained. "That's how it works!"

"**YES!**" Fudge shrieked so loudly she made everyone within two metres of her jump. She gave Lightning a fierce hug, which he returned in a heartbeat.

"W- Wait! No! Wait a minute! No-" Sterling was so shocked, he could barely speak.

"Uh, Lightning wins, he decides when he's done racing", Sally spoke up. "That was the deal." With a smile, she added sweetly, "Hi. I'm his lawyer."

"That was the deal!" Mater sang, getting in Sterling's face. "You are not a nice guy! Though seriously, I gotta say, you _do_ make some quality mud flaps at an affordable price."

"This day's just getting better and better!" Fudge proclaimed as the gleam in her eyes expanded.

Tex cleared his throat. "Hey, Sterling! Why don't you and I take a drive and talk?"

The Cadillac started to drive off and the silver car followed without a word.

"Billionaire to billionaire..." Tex began.

* * *

At that moment, all of the big screens started showing Cruz flipping over Jackson Storm once again. When Fudge gazed up at it, she had a huge grin on her face and it was that moment when what happened sank in. Tears began streaming down her face and she was smiling so much, it hurt. There was one person she absolutely had to tell.

Fudge ran up to him, sobbing. She gave him an even fiercer hug than before.

"It's sunken in!" she cried. "Thank you!"

Lightning returned the hug. "Hey! It's all right!" he whispered gently. He kissed the top of her head as he ran a tyre through her hair. Fudge returned the kiss on his hood as she sobbed up against him.

Sammy tossed the tissue box their way.

"You know, it wasn't like you haven't done enough for me!" the sixteen-year-old sniffled, making Lightning laugh. "You made my dreams come true! Thank you so much!"

"Trust me, Fudge-O, I was happy to do this for you", he assured her, fastening the star necklace back onto her. He'd kept it for her during the race. "And making your dreams come true?" He showed her the necklace. "That's what this is all about, remember?"

The human girl smiled, remembering when Lightning gave it to her on her thirteenth birthday.

"This _is a wishing star. You wear this and all your dreams'll come true_", he'd explained to her when he was fastening the necklace to her neck.

"You know I love you, right?"

"You know I love you too, right, Fudge?"

"After _this_?! And everything _else_ you've done for me! Of _course _I know that!"

The stock car let out a laugh.

Fudge stayed with Lightning for a little while longer, crying tears of joy. He held her and let her cry for as long as she needed to (he'd done that for her before, but it was a lot nicer when she was happy!). That was when reporters began swarming Fudge and Cruz and snapping their pictures.

"Cruz! Fudge! Over here!"

"How does it feel to beat Jackson Storm?!"

"Take us through it!"

"It was great!" Cruz declared. "Uh... I don't know what to say. It was just so incredible to win our first race."

"Can you give us your perspectives on this race?"

"Cruz! We've heard you and Fudge have accepted a sponsorship deal with Dinoco! What can you tell us about that?!"

Meanwhile, Fudge couldn't help grinning, but she looked back at Lightning uncertainly.

"It's your moment, Fudge-O!" he told her with a laugh, handing her a tissue. "Go ahead and enjoy it!"

"Okay, but I want you to come with us to victory lane. You deserve to be there as much as we do."

"All right. I'll be there", Lightning assured her.

Fudge's grin expanded as she ran off as fast as she could to see the press.

"Fudge!" they called out. "Take us through the race from your perspective!"

"I can't believe we did that! It was just so awesome!" Fudge exclaimed with happy tears streaming down her face. She wiped her eyes. "Oh, my gosh! Winning the race was just so unexpected! I think Lightning and Cruz would agree that the last two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster for all of us! And to share this win with them both at the end of it all..." She paused. "We did it, guys! We frickin' did it!"

Lightning smiled proudly as he watched the two young women talking and laughing with the press. They were clearly soaking up the limelight, as they should. They deserved it.

"Kids have got a lot of stuff, hey, Doc?" he murmured to himself, swelling with pride. He practically needed one of those tissues himself!

Sally had overheard him and came over. "Well, they had a great teacher. And now, _you_ get to decide when you're done racing. So, what's it gonna be, Stinky? Uh, Stickers?"

He gave a chuckle. "Oh, I'm gonna keep racing", he decided. "But before that, I got something I wanna do." He told Sally his plan and she beamed.

* * *

When Cruz and Fudge got to victory lane, they found Junior, River and Louise there.

"That was some race, kids!" Louise congratulated them.

"Thanks!" the two racers chorused, buzzing with excitement.

"You know, we couldn't have done it without you guys!" Cruz went on.

"Yeah, we didn't have any confidence or know some of the very useful stuff you told us", Fudge clarified. "Thanks, guys."

They smiled.

"You know, that flip you did was amazing!" Junior informed them.

"It was kind of like watching Hud do it all over again!" River added.

"Thanks!" Fudge and Cruz repeated.

"That was fun!" Fudge voiced her opinion.

"You know", Louise smiled at them, "I think there's gonna be a lot of girl power in the future of racing!"

"I think so too", Cruz assured her.

"I agree", Fudge chimed in.

There was a long, lingering moment where Fudge was just staring at the Legends, grinning like crazy.

"What?" River asked.

Without warning, Fudge leapt out to try and hug all of them. River and Junior tried to race off. However, Cruz and Louise blocked their path.

"You can run away from _me_, but you can't run away from the _love_!" Fudge vowed, managing to give each of them a hug.

By then, everyone was laughing. Junior and River didn't seem to mind that their escape attempt had failed because they, Louise, Cruz and Fudge were enveloped in a big hug.

* * *

If there was one thing Fudge loved about Lightning, well, there wasn't one thing. One of the main things, though, was that he always kept his promises. He showed up in victory lane with Cruz and Fudge, who insisted on making him come with them to accept the trophy.

Lightning shook his hood, refusing at first. "_You_ won the race, guys."

"So did _you_!" Fudge insisted.

"No I _didn't_!"

"That's not what the board says!" Cruz pointed out in a singsong voice, gesturing to an electronic monitor, listing Ramirez, Rossi-Topolino and McQueen as the winners.

* * *

"_Ladies and gentlemen!_" a voice boomed over the PA. "_Let's hear it for today's_ _winners! Cruz Ramirez, Fudge Rossi-Topolino and Lightning McQueen!_"

The crowd went wild as the three winners were presented with the trophy and showered with confetti! The press continued to snap their pictures. All three of them were grinning proudly. They were all proud of themselves and each other. The cars from Radiator Springs, Sammy, Smokey, and the Legends all watched, cheering loudly and beaming, proud of all three of them.

"I still can't believe we won our first race!" Fudge announced as she helped Lightning and Cruz hold up the trophy. It was a beautiful, tall trophy with the words FLORIDA 500 WINNER on it and had two flags on top. "And I just won my first _trophy_!" It had only just occurred to her that she had never won a trophy before.

"Your first trophy?" Cruz repeated in surprise.

"Of many", Lightning added proudly.

Fudge smiled. "Yeah..." The thought of that appealed to her very much.

"Lightning? Can I ask you something?" the sixteen-year-old questioned. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to..."

"What is it?"

"Now, I don't mean to be rude or sound ungrateful here. I'm just curious... Ever since the accident, you've been against me racing... What made you change your mind today?"

"Well, because, I realised you were a racer. I still wanna protect you- and I promise I always will- but I shouldn't stand in the way of you following your dreams. That would be a lot of talent going to waste."

Every single little thing seemed to make Fudge's smile grow bigger and her brother's words did just that too. She gave him another big hug. "I love you!"

Once again, he returned the hug. "I love you too!"

* * *

"Well, I guess there's one thing we need to do before we get out of here", Lightning informed Cruz and Fudge when they were getting ready to leave, to attend the big race after party, to which they and all of their friends who had been at the race were invited. Of course, the three of them were the guests of honour.

"What?" Fudge wondered.

"I spoke to Tex while you two were speaking to the press", Lightning explained. "He wanted you guys to see him as soon as possible. You know, to sort out the sponsorship contract and stuff like that." He paused and added, "Oh, but Fudge, Luigi and Guido will have to sign those for you 'cause you're not eighteen yet."

Fudge nodded. She'd been expecting that. "All right. Fair enough"

"You know", Cruz began, "Fudge and I've talked about it and we decided we still want you to help us out and train us. I think the three of us work well together and you understand us."

"We want you to help us as much as you can!" Fudge added hurriedly. "I mean, you're still racing, right?"

"I guess we _do_ work well together!" Lightning chuckled, remembering Smokey's short-lived reign as their crew chief. "You know, I'm gonna keep racing, but first, I'm gonna train you guys and be your crew chief! If you'll have me, that is."

"Absolutely!" they chorused delightedly.

Lightning, Cruz and Fudge all grinned, heading off to sign the contracts. They all had their futures in front of them and they couldn't wait to start.

**We're getting pretty close to the end of the movie now! However, there'll still be three or four chapters to go of this one. (Right now, it's three, but one of them is pretty long, so I _might_ break it up into two chapters. I haven't decided yet.)**

**Finally, a friendly reminder to review and what I think might be the toughest quiz question I have come up with in this game: In_ When Life Gives You Lemons_, what is Sammy's alias/fake name while working with the Lemons on the oil platform?**


	36. Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool

**Correct answer to the question is... Hannah Fielding!**

**Now, this is just a filler chapter and if you've seen the short on the _Cars 3_ DVD, then I think you know what this is! It takes place at about this point, so I figured why not include it? So, I did!  
**

**Chapter 36- Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool**

"Just got a text from RJ", Fudge announced to Lightning and Cruz, glancing up from her phone.

It was late by then. The three of them had signed all the contracts with Dinoco (or in Fudge's case, had their parents sign them on her behalf).

* * *

"We'll have to assign you a number too", Tex had informed them.

"Leave that to me!" Lightning had instructed him.

"The racin' world better prepare for some surprises with you two around", Tex had repeated, "especially with Lightnin' McQueen as your crew chief." He gave Lightning a smile and a wink, which gave Fudge and Cruz the feeling that the two of them were hiding something!

The two had giggled. "Well, we hope so."

"I _know_ so", Tex had assured them.

It was the Cadillac's words that got Fudge singing "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars. Only, she changed the words _the Queen_ to _McQueen_, making Cruz and Lightning laugh. Although she knew there was more to life than fame and fortune, the idea of having all of that certainly did sound exciting.

Then they had danced the night away, posed for pictures, signed autographs and thanked countless people for congratulating them on their victory at the race after party. Even Jackson Storm showed up to the party, but he spent most of it sulking in the corner. Now, as everyone else was getting loaded up and ready to head to a hotel for the night, the three of them were taking a minute alone to chat. Cruz had even brought out her Thunder Hollow trophy to get a good look at both trophies side by side. Although midnight was fast approaching, not one of them was tired. In fact, they didn't want the day to end, so they planned to stay up as long as possible.

* * *

"Who's RJ?" Cruz wanted to know.

"My half-brother", Fudge answered. "You know, the one I told you about who lives in Alaska."

"Yeah? What did he say?" Lightning questioned.

"'Saw the race. Very impressive. So proud of you, lil sis'", she read.

Both Lightning and Cruz smiled. "Oh, that's nice."

Fudge was also smiling as she began typing away at a reply.

"Hey, Cruz!" she called out when she was done. "Now that I've got my phone out, why don't you give me your phone number and I'll give you mine?" Although they both knew that their time together was far from over, she felt like it would be good to have each other's phone numbers.

"Sure", Cruz agreed, taking the phone from Fudge and putting her number in.

"Okay. I'm gonna have you saved in my contacts as Flame Boy", Fudge announced, giggling as she typed that into her phone.

"Okay. Then give me your phone number and I'll save you as Laser Child!" Cruz laughed.

The sixteen-year-old laughed too as she took Cruz's phone and put her number in and saved her number to Hamilton as well. "Okay!"

Lightning was puzzled. "Huh? Flame Boy? Laser Child?"

"Long story", both young women chorused.

"What do you have _me_ saved as, Fudge?" Lightning questioned.

Fudge launched into giggles.

"What?!" he demanded.

"Monty Python!"

"No!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Yes!" Fudge exclaimed.

"Monty Python?" Cruz echoed. "Why Monty Python?"

"Don't say it!" Lightning ordered.

"Monty is his real name!" Fudge blurted out, which earned her a death stare from Lightning.

For the next five minutes, Cruz was laughing hysterically, repeating, "Monty! Monty McQueen!" to herself over and over again. Lightning groaned and rolled his eyes.

* * *

The TV was on in the background as they talked. It was a late night rerun of one of the RSN shows, highlighting their interviews as well as Cruz flipping over Storm.

"_We've witnessed racing history today as newcomers Cruz Ramirez and Fudge Rossi_-_Topolino upset Jackson Storm to win the Florida 500!_" the announcer began.

"Yeah, we did!" Fudge exclaimed, glancing up from her phone and she and Cruz high-fived.

Lightning laughed, watching them. "Guys, let's put this right here", he suggested, shifting their Florida 500 trophy closer to the Thunder Hollow one, "where it'll be safe and sound."

Cruz chuckled.

"Yeah, 'cause then it's further away from you!" Fudge teased.

Lightning looked embarrassed and Fudge stopped smiling.

"Too soon?" she asked, worried that she'd hurt him or made him angry.

"No, no. It's not that. It's just... I'm really sorry I broke Cruz's first trophy. I still feel really bad about that."

"It's okay, Mr. McQueen", Cruz assured him. She gestured to the trophy that had been fixed with duct tape. "I don't see a broken trophy. Whenever I look at it, I think of all the awesome memories I have from the last two weeks with you and Fudge."

"It _has_ been an awesome two weeks", Fudge agreed with a smile.

"Yeah", Lightning chimed in with a happy sigh. "And I don't think today could've gone better." After a moment of content silence, he added, "No regrets."

"None", Fudge confirmed, returning the warm smile that her older brother was giving her and her best friend.

* * *

"_Are you feeling like your life is forever stuck in neutral?_" a vaguely familiar voice asked on the TV, beginning a commercial.

When Fudge saw who it was, she nearly dropped her phone.

"Hey, look!" she cried, pointing to the TV with one hand and stuffing her phone into her pocket with the other. "It's the School Bus of Death!"

Indeed, it was Miss Fritter on TV. She was just driving across the Crazy Eight dirt track with a microphone in front of her. The trio couldn't help smiling. After the eventful couple of days they'd had, Thunder Hollow felt like forever ago! Heck, even that morning in Thomasville felt like it had been years ago!

"What's she doing on TV?" Cruz wondered.

"If we listen, we'll find out!" Lightning reminded them.

"_...one long dead-end street?_" Miss Fritter continued. "_Well, that's how I used to feel_ _when I was driving for the Lower Belleville County Unified School District._"

She stopped and paused in front of a wooden sign, showing a scratch and dent-free, less intimidating-looking school bus with the words LOWER BELLEVILLE COUNTY on her side, holding a stop sign.

A second later, she burst through the sign, completely destroying it with a loud honk. "_**BUT I CHANGED THE DIRECTION OF MY LIFE!**_" she yelled. "_**WHEN I STARTED **_**MISS** **FRITTER'S RACING SKOOOL**_**! AND**_ **I **_**CAN HELP**_ **YOU **_**CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF**_ **YOUR **_**LIFE**_ _**TOO!**_"

Out of nowhere, Dr. Damage rammed into her, sending her flying off screen. Fudge's eyes widened as she looked at Lightning and Cruz. They both gave her the same shocked look.

"Oh, boy!" the human girl murmured.

"_I lost my job because I had a broken siren and I was accident-prone_", Dr. Damage informed viewers in a depressed tone. Then he brightened as he added, "_But thanks to Miss_ _Fritter, I turned my accident-prone-ness into my greatest strength! And she helped me fix my_ _siren too!_" He switched on his lights and imitated a siren, driving around in circles until Roxy Rocket, Fire and Ice all teamed up to shove him out of the way.

"_I've always been in a rush_", Roxy Rocket began. "_People used to call me Speedy Gonzalez or_ _say I was as fast as a rocket! They'd tell me to slow down! But now that I'm enrolled in Miss_ _Fritter's Racing Skoool, nobody will ever tell me to slow down again! I can race around as_ _much as I want!_" Just like that, she raced off on her roller skates, chasing after Dr. Damage.

"_That's right!_" Fire added. "_Humans can join in the fun too!_"

"_Maybe we're not as fast_", Ice chimed in, "_but we're gutsy and we can give the cars a damn_ _good fight!_"

"And the other humans", Fudge mumbled, remembering her horrific experience at Thunder Hollow Speedway.

Next, it was Fare Game's turn to crash into _them_. He laughed once they had vanished from the screen.

"_So_", he began in his New York accent, "_I go see my mechanic for a routine service, right? He_ _says to me, 'Take a look in the rearview! You got high oil pressure, your steering's shot and_ _your odometer's about to turn over!'_" He shifted to a much calmer, gentler tone as he sunk down on his tyres. "'_It's time for you to shift gears and learn to relax.'_"

At that moment, Arvy came barrelling in front of the camera and ploughed Fare Game off the screen, laughing.

"_**HEY!**_" Fare Game yelled off screen. "_**WHAT THE-**_" He honked his horn repeatedly while he spoke. "_Whoo-hoo! Over here! Still talking here!"_

Arvy gestured for the camera to shift back over to the taxi. So, it did.

Fudge giggled. "What even _is_ this?" she wondered. This commercial was both weird and confusing, but it was kind of funny and entertaining too!

"_So_", Fare Game continued, lying on his side, "_I took my mechanic's advice and enrolled in_ _Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool._" He spoke in that calm, gentle tone again. "_And now, I'm as_ _relaxed as a VW van!_" He rolled onto his roof.

Finally, the camera pointed to Arvy once again. The microphone tapped him on the windshield a couple of times before he started to speak in a monotone.

"_I was lost, driving day after day on an endless road to nowhere_", Arvy's robotic voice began, clearly reading off a cue card or something. "_Then-_"

He was cut off by taking his turn at being rammed. This time, by Miss Fritter.

"_But don't take_ our _word for it!_" Miss Fritter yelled. "_Go ask three of our most recent_ _graduates!_"

By then, the camera had focused on Fare Game, Arvy and Roxy Rocket again. Only another wooden sign appeared in front of them. This one showed images of Lightning, Cruz and Fudge with holes cut out around their mouths, instead showing the mouths of the Crazy Eight racers.

"_Lightning McQueen! Cruz Ramirez! And Fudge Rossi-Topolino!_"

Fudge did a double take. "Wait. What?!"

She, Lightning and Cruz exchanged surprised, confused looks. Participating in a never-before-seen relay in a Piston Cup race, flipping over Jackson Storm and causing him to lose his undefeated status all meant that Lightning, Cruz and Fudge's names were everywhere that night. However, that commercial was one place they weren't expecting to hear their names.

"_Miss Fritter is the best!_" Fare Game as Lightning McQueen proclaimed.

"_She taught me everything I know!_" Arvy as Cruz Ramirez chimed in in that monotone.

"_Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool is the perfect place to escape!_" Roxy Rocket as Fudge Rossi-Topolino gave her testimonial.

Lightning and Cruz burst out laughing.

"You get it?!" Cruz quizzed her. "'Cause you tried to escape from Thunder Hollow!"

"Yeah, I got it!" Fudge groaned and made a face. "Now, _they're_ a bunch of frickin' comedians! I wonder how long it took them to come up with _that_!" She could just imagine the Crazy Eight racers getting together to write the commercial, all snickering when someone suggested that line.

"_So_", Miss Fritter concluded the commercial with the other racers all at her sides, "_race on down now to Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool! Or call us at one, currr-razy eight, four_-_four-RETTIRF!_"

"_That's _Fritter _spelt backwards!_" Dr. Damage chimed in.

"_Or find us on the Internet!_" Miss Fritter went on. "_At you're guaranteed to have a blast dot com!_" She honked again and flames poured out of her horns. "_Whoo!_" She started laughing menacingly as the camera started shaking and did a close-up of her face.

Fudge couldn't help jumping in fear and tried to back away from the TV. However, in doing so, she accidentally kicked Cruz's Thunder Hollow trophy, knocking it over. This time, it broke into several pieces!

The human girl froze in shock and her hand flew up to her mouth in disbelief. "Oh, my God! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, feeling terrible.

"Maybe that wasn't such a safe place after all", Lightning spoke up.

Cruz didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry", Fudge offered again.

Cruz gave a soft smile. "It's okay. We can fix it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I mean, Mr. McQueen's fixed it once... sort of. It can be fixed again."

"Maybe we should keep the trophies away from _you_ too!" Lightning teased with a chuckle.

Fudge gave him a hard look. "Too soon."

Lightning checked the time. "Speaking of too soon, it's nearly midnight. We better get going to the hotel."

"Aw!" Fudge sighed. "I don't want this day to end!"

"Yeah. Me neither", Cruz agreed.

"Well, neither do I", Lightning sighed, "but it's been a long day and I think we could all do with some rest."

"He _is_ getting old!" Cruz exclaimed, looking at Fudge.

"Back when he raced, he used to stay out till one o'clock in the morning, doing shots with Cal Weathers and Bobby Swift!" the human girl informed her best friend.

"You knew about that?" Lightning asked in surprise.

"Yeah!"

Lightning chuckled. "Well, I'm not just thinking about myself here. I think this is the latest you've stayed up since the night before the accident." Francesco Bernoulli had been in town then, but left on the day of the accident, so the townsfolk had thrown him a farewell party the night before.

"_Touché_", Fudge mumbled as she reached out to pick up the Florida 500 trophy.

"Oh, no!" Cruz stopped her. "I think both you _and_ Mr. McQueen have proven you can't be trusted with the trophies!" She was already holding the pieces of the Thunder Hollow trophy and was picking up the Florida 500 one.

"_Touché_", Fudge repeated, walking off.

* * *

"Hey, Lightning?" Fudge began at one point when Cruz was way ahead of the other two and probably couldn't hear.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanna say... thanks again for today. It really means a lot to me."

Lightning shrugged modestly. "I did what I thought was right... Can I tell you something?" (Fudge looked his way expectantly.) "You've been battling a lot of head versus heart lately. And you've got a good heart, Fudge-O. Never ever forget that."

The teen beamed. "Thanks. So do you. You made my dream come true... I can't stop thinking about how awesome it is."

Lightning pulled Fudge in for a big hug. "What are brothers for?" He kissed the top of her head. "You deserve this, Fudge-O. You really made me proud."

The teenager flashed him that toothless grin of hers. "What are sisters for?" She checked the time on her phone. "Dammit! It's after midnight! The best day of my life is over!"

"It's okay!" her brother assured her. "I'm sure we've still got a lot of great days to look forward to. Since I get to decide when I'm done racing and you and Cruz have the Dinoco sponsorship, you and I are still gonna have a lot of adventures together, partner."

"Yep", Fudge giggled. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me!"

Lightning chuckled some more, ruffling his little sister's hair affectionately as he pulled her in close. "That's fine with me... I love you."

Fudge beamed. "I love you too. And you know? Of all the adventures we've had together, I liked this one the best."

"Me too, Fudge-O. Me too."

* * *

All the way back to the hotel, Cruz and Fudge were bouncing around and calling out thanks to anybody who congratulated them on their way past or stopping to watch the RSN talk about them on the tons of TVs that they passed.

Lightning chuckled, watching them. They weren't as arrogant as he had been, but otherwise, they reminded him of himself when he was a rookie and he was excited about a win.

"Doc, wherever you are, I hope you can see us all", Lightning whispered at one point, stopping to look up at the stars. "I think you'd be proud of us."

Up ahead of him, Cruz and Fudge had started on "Billionaire" again, belting it out at the tops of their lungs.

Lightning chuckled again. He couldn't help but wonder how they were ever going to, first of all, be quiet with the others already at the hotel and probably asleep. Then he wondered how they were ever going to get to sleep.

* * *

However, he didn't need to wonder about that. It seemed as though all of the excitement had worn both of them out. As soon as Cruz had got into a comfortable position and Fudge changed into her pyjamas and tumbled into bed, they were both fast asleep.

Lightning smiled at the sight of them, especially when he noticed that Cruz was still clutching her trophies.

He stroked Fudge's hair and gave her a kiss. "Good night, guys!" he whispered, looking back and forth between the two. "Sweet dreams."

Although, those words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. When he thought about it, he realised no dream could be sweeter than having their dreams come true just a couple of hours earlier.

**Awww! I thought that ending was pretty cute!**

**So, as I said, this is based on the Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool short, but with Fudge, my Thunder Hollow OCs and I changed the ending slightly.**

**RJ finally gets a mention in this story too! Don't worry. He will appear later! :)**

**Speak of the devil...**

**Q. What is RJ's full name?**


	37. Champions Return

**Correct answer is... River Patrick Rose, Junior.**

**Again, this is just a filler chapter. Enjoy :)**

**Chapter 37- Champions Return**

The next morning, everyone was still talking about the incredible, unprecedented victory of Cruz Ramirez, Fudge Rossi-Topolino and Lightning McQueen, much to Jackson Storm's dismay. Not that anybody else really cared. Everyone else continued to chatter about the newcomers excitedly.

How did Cruz Ramirez and Fudge Rossi-Topolino spend most of that morning, though? Sleeping! Their friends and family had all gone off to have some breakfast and answer phone calls that were coming in to request interviews with Dinoco's newest racers, leaving them to sleep.

"They must be exhausted after such a big night", Lightning pointed out.

* * *

It wasn't until 10:34 that Cruz stirred. The first thing she noticed was that all of the others were gone, except for Fudge, who was still asleep. The yellow car wasn't sure what to do, so she parked there in silence for a couple of minutes, relieved when Fudge woke up.

Cruz smiled at her. "Mornin'!"

"Mornin'!" Fudge mumbled sleepily, not bothering to open her eyes.

"I had the most amazing dream last night!" Cruz announced.

"Me too", Fudge yawned, rolling over to face Cruz. "My dream was awesome!"

"I had a dream Mr. McQueen put us in the Florida 500 and we won the race!"

Fudge's eyes widened as she sat up. "I had the same dream!"

"It was so cool!" Cruz exclaimed.

"Even cooler", Lightning piped up, coming into the room, "it wasn't a dream!" He gestured to the trophy that was lying close to Cruz.

Both young women grinned.

"Thank Chrysler!" Fudge exclaimed, putting on her glasses. "I was worried it was a dream!" She sighed. "That's the problem with good dreams. You wake up, disappointed that it's not real. Then there's _bad_ dreams and they're _never_ fun!"

"Yeah", Lightning sighed, remembering _his_ nightmares and Fudge waking up screaming and crying after having a bad dream. Then he brightened all of a sudden. "Well, if you want, we were gonna go to a coffee shop down the street for brunch. Wanna join us?"

"Sure", Cruz and Fudge agreed in unison.

So, Fudge got dressed and the two followed Lightning.

"All right! Let's go! After brunch, we got a lot of work to do!"

* * *

That day was pretty insane. A majority of it was spent doing interviews and responding to requests for interviews.

"Roy Gauge and Ericka Dent from _Under the Hood_ want to do an interview with us!" Fudge exclaimed excitedly.

"When?" Lightning wanted to know.

"Next week before the next race."

"We can do that."

"Awesome!"

"And we've still got one more thing left to do while we're in Florida", Lightning announced.

"What's that?"

The stock car smiled mysteriously. "You'll find out tomorrow..."

"Should I be worried?" Fudge giggled.

"Maybe..."

* * *

As it turned out, she didn't need to be worried. Her eyes widened and she broke out into a huge grin when she saw where they were.

"**DISNEY WORLD!**"

"That's right!" Lightning confirmed. "I figured since we never got to go to Disneyland after the race in Los Angeles last season, we could go to Disney _World_ here."

"Oh, my gosh! Thank you!" Fudge exclaimed, hugging Lightning. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, **THANK YOU!**" She was excited! She'd never been to Disney World before. She'd been to the Disneylands in California, Paris and Tokyo as well as the Disney Sea in Tokyo. The human girl couldn't wait to see how Disney World compared.

The race car smiled. "No problem. Now, let's have some fun, all right?"

"Yeah!" Fudge cheered.

Disney World sure didn't disappoint the sixteen-year-old. They all enjoyed the thrills of the roller coasters and other fast rides.

"But it's not racing!" Fudge had pointed out with a grin.

Lightning chuckled. "That's right!"

"Especially when you flip over another racer!" Cruz laughed.

"That _was_ awesome!" Fudge agreed, beaming as she remembered doing that.

* * *

Later that night, after watching the parades and the fireworks, the RS gang loaded up the trailer with the stuff they'd brought with them as well as souvenirs (none more epic than the trophy!) and said goodbye to Sammy, Smokey and the Legends. They were preparing to head back to Radiator Springs. Fudge didn't want to leave, but at the same time, she couldn't wait to get home. She couldn't wait to see Red, Sheriff, Lizzie and Jennyfur again. She couldn't wait to sleep in her own bed. She couldn't wait to return to her hometown as a champion. She couldn't wait to show Cruz, Smokey and the Legends all of the sights of Radiator Springs. The gang from Thomasville would be heading to Radiator Springs in a little while. Cruz, however, would be staying in Radiator Springs for a while, so she could train with Lightning and Fudge. It was even possible that she might _move_ there, but nobody wanted to get ahead of themselves just yet. Nothing had been decided yet. Nothing at all.

"You're gonna _love_ it there!" Fudge informed her best friend once they were in the trailer, ready to go. "Willy's Butte is a great place to race! And Flo's V8 Café has the finest fuel in fifty states!"

"How would you know, Fudge?" Cruz wondered. "You're a human, not a car."

The teen shrugged. "I've heard it's good. And the food and drinks I've had there are good. Oh! And you'll have to come and get tyres from Luigi's Casa Della Tires."

"That's where you live, right?" Cruz remembered Fudge talking about living in a tyre shop.

"Yep. You can come over, get new tyres, hang out with me and meet my cat."

The yellow car grinned. "Sounds great!"

Fudge returned the grin. "Great!"

That was when Mack blared out his horn and yelled, "Radiator Springs, here we come!"

Fudge grinned. She had had many adventures over the last two weeks, but right now, there was only one place she wanted to be: home.

* * *

And they were there after several days of travelling. Only Fudge was asleep when they pulled into the small town.

"Fudge!" Lightning whispered, shaking her gently. "Fudge!"

"Mmm..." she mumbled sleepily, rolling over and opening her eyes just a crack.

"We're home!" Lightning announced.

The human girl smiled as she fumbled for her glasses. "We're home!"

"Yeah, we are!"

All of a sudden, Fudge was awake. She pulled on her glasses and hurried down the ramp to exit the trailer.

The first thing Fudge heard when she was outside was a loud bang from a glitter cannon.

"Surprise!" several excited voices yelled out almost in unison.

The human girl's eyes widened when she saw Sheriff, Red and Lizzie parked there under a big banner, which read CONGRATULATIONS!

"Congratulations!" everyone shouted, beaming at Lightning, Cruz and Fudge.

Fudge ran forward and gave Red, Sheriff and Lizzie hugs.

"Hey, kiddo!" Sheriff greeted her. "Where's the trophy?"

Fudge frowned a little. "Cruz has it. Apparently, I am not to be trusted with it."

Sheriff chuckled. "What did you do, Fudge?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Sheriff just chuckled some more and hugged the teen. "I'm glad you're back! And I'm so proud of you!"

She returned the hug. "Thank you, Sheriff. I'm glad I'm back too."

That was when the squad car noticed Cruz. "You must be Cruz Ramirez."

She smiled. "Yeah, I am."

Sheriff tried to hide a smile as he grumbled, "Just what this town needs! Another racer! D'you have any idea how many times I've busted McQueen for speedin' over the years?"

"Mr. McQueen!" Cruz gasped.

The stock car rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.

Meanwhile, Lizzie beamed at Fudge. "What do you say we get this party started?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea!" the human girl declared with a huge grin.

Lizzie looked blank. "What does?"

In a matter of minutes, the neon lights were on and the radio was playing "Sh-Boom" at full blast. Cruz's eyes widened at the rainbow of colours lighting up the night. "Whoa!" she exclaimed softly.

"I know!" Fudge grinned. "You should've been here ten years ago when Lightning got everyone to fix their neon and put it on for the first time in years."

"Mr. McQueen did that?" the yellow car asked incredulously.

Fudge nodded. "It was a surprise for Sally."

Cruz chuckled softly. She was remembering the moment of the post-race party in Florida when she found Lightning and Sally making out.

* * *

"Fudge, you are not going to _believe_ what I just saw!" she'd exclaimed breathlessly, racing up to her friend.

Fudge, who had just been thanking Tim Treadless for his praise about their racing, turned to Cruz. "What?!" she had wanted to know.

"Mr. McQueen was just making out with his lawyer! You know, Ms. Carrera?"

"Really?" The human girl had tried to hide a laugh, but didn't do a very good job.

"What's so funny?" Cruz had wondered.

"Nothing!" Fudge had cracked up while Cruz parked there, looking kind of annoyed.

"_What_?!" she had demanded.

"I'm not laughing _at_ you", Fudge explained. "It's just... Sally isn't just his lawyer. She's his _girlfriend_!"

"_What_?!" Cruz had gasped. She had always assumed that Lightning wasn't single, but she hadn't known Sally was his girlfriend.

"Yeah. They've been dating for over ten years!"

"If they've been dating ten years, how come they aren't married yet?"

Fudge shrugged. "They just don't think they need to", she had informed Cruz. "Not that they've said they'll never get married."

* * *

Now, Cruz watched the two of them nuzzle each other lovingly. She watched everyone cruising and dancing around the town.

"You know", Cruz began, smiling at Fudge, "I know I haven't been here that long, but I've got a feeling I'm gonna be really happy here."

Fudge returned the smile. "Me too, Cruz. Me too."

* * *

In the morning, after having breakfast at Flo's, Lightning and Fudge insisted on taking Cruz somewhere.

"Mr. McQueen? Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Cruz turned to the human girl beside her. "Fudge, do _you_ know where we're going?"

She grinned. "You'll see."

Cruz's eyes widened when she saw what their destination was: the grave of Doc Hudson. It was a quiet place hidden away from the prying eyes of tourists. Even though Lightning and everyone else felt like they could talk to Doc anywhere, sometimes they preferred to do it by his grave. It made them feel closer to him.

"Hey, Doc!" Lightning greeted the grave. "We're back! I guess you've seen what happened in Florida. At least, we hope so. We hope you're proud of us and I'm sure you would be."

"Yeah, I wonder what you'd say if you could see us now", Fudge commented. "And we could see you. We all wish you were here, but we always try to make you proud every single day. Once again, I'm really sorry for how I acted when you died." Fudge had only been ten years old when he passed away and therefore, hadn't dealt with it all that well. To this day, she felt guilty about the whole thing.

"What did you do when he died?" Cruz wondered.

"I'd rather not talk about it", was Fudge's only response.

Luckily, Cruz didn't push it. "Hey, Doc!" she took her turn of greeting the grave. "It is _so_ nice to meet you finally! I can't wait to learn more about you from Fudge and Mr. McQueen. I've already learned so much! Did you hear that Fudge and I flipped over another racer like you did?! It was so cool!"

* * *

After talking to Doc a little while longer, their next stop was the late legend's garage. The trio had managed to get some pretty impressive photos during the two weeks they'd spent preparing for Florida. They'd gotten them developed while they were still in Florida and were now putting them up in the garage along with Doc's other photos.

"Racing at Fireball Beach was incredible!" Lightning exclaimed, looking at that photo.

"Hashtag beach life!" Cruz sang.

"Training at Thomasville was a dream come true!" the stock car continued, grinning at a photo of him and Cruz amongst the tractors.

"Hashtag old school!" Cruz chimed.

"And playing in the mud at Thunder Hollow was a blast!"

Fudge gave Lightning a Look. "Really?"

"Well, maybe not at the time", he admitted, "but it's kind of fun to think about!"

"Hashtag muddy tyres!" Cruz added.

This went on for a while, even Fudge joined in. When she was shown a photo of the entire group in Florida, she sang, "Hashtag squad!"

When they were done, they stood back to admire their work.

"It looks nice!" Fudge commented.

"Yeah, I bet Doc would love seeing these new memories hanging next to his old ones!" Cruz proclaimed.

Lightning smiled. "I agree!" With a huge grin, looking real proud of himself, he added, "Hashtag!"

"Oh, no..." Fudge moaned, hiding her face in her hands. Despite everything that had happened lately, this was the first time she felt like Lightning was an old man.

"Uh... That's not how it-" Cruz began. She stopped. "Never mind."

"That was even worse than when I showed Sarge Tumblr!" Fudge groaned.

"That's not how you do it?" McQueen guessed.

The human girl shook her head. "Nope."

"Well, how _do_ you do it?"

"Not like that!"

Lightning chuckled.

* * *

That was when Sally came in.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted them. "There's someone here to see us."

"Smokey and the others aren't supposed to get here for another two days", Lightning pointed out.

"It's not Smokey", Sally replied.

"Who is it?" Fudge wondered.

"Go outside and see", the Porsche instructed with a smile.

So, they did. They found a familiar magenta sports car chatting away to Mater, hugging and kissing him. Fudge couldn't help smiling. They'd really missed each other and while they still wanted to be together and were trying to make it work, it was hard. Meanwhile, a familiar silver-blue Faultless GT was chatting away to the other residents of the small town.

"Finn!" Fudge gasped. "Holley!"

The two turned at the sounds of their names.

"Hello, Fudge!" Holley smiled. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Hello, Fudge!" Finn added. "We were just about to look for you."

"Well, here I am!"

"Who is this?" Cruz wanted to know.

"Cruz, this is Finn and Holley, our friends from London. We met during the World Grand Prix", Fudge introduced them. After a pause, she added, "They're in the import-export business." She'd told Cruz the story of the World Grand Prix and being mistaken for spies, but in case Cruz ever met Finn and Holley and they wanted her to keep the fact that they were spies a secret, she changed their names to Michael and Emily respectively while telling the story.

Cruz smiled. "Right. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, uh..." Finn waited for the yellow car to fill in the blanks.

"Cruz", she supplied. "Cruz Ramirez. I'm a friend of Fudge's."

"We're sorry we haven't been in touch with you much lately", Finn apologised. "We've spent six weeks in Africa with no way of communicating with you. We thought with that big mission out of the way, we'd visit Sammy and then you."

"Oh, that's okay", Fudge assured him. "You gotta do what you gotta do... How are you?"

"Quite well, thank you... How are _you_? What's new in your life?"

Fudge looked around at the rest of her family. Based on the excited grins on their faces, she could tell that they hadn't told him yet. And neither had Sammy. Plus, if he and Holley had been in Africa for the last six weeks, then they wouldn't have seen the race either. The others knew that it was Fudge's story to tell. The teenager giggled. "_Everything_!"

**A couple of notes and bits of trivia on this chapter:**

**1\. Finn and Holley won't be appearing again. Like I've said before, they're only here now because I'm not one of those people who act like _Cars 2_ never happened. I mean, I wasn't expecting Finn and Holley to appear in _Cars 3_ or even be mentioned, but I still thought there would be an Easter Egg (like a picture in the background) that acknowledges them and that Mater and Holley are still a thing. However, there was nothing. (By the way, does anybody know why I chose the names Michael and Emily when Fudge retells the events of _Cars 2_?)**

**2\. _Under the Hood_ is a segment in _Cars_ related videos on YouTube for the RSN. There is another segment called _Rearview Replay_ and Roy Gauge and Ericka Dent are the hosts of that.**

**3\. The hashtag moment is an ad I found on YouTube; I thought it would be funny to include it here.**

**4\. There was a throwback to _Life Could Be a Dream_... Did you spot it?**

**I'm saving the next chapter for a special occasion, but I don't know when that'll be. It could be tomorrow or next week. (I'll explain when I post it.)**

**Lastly, I want to remind you to please review and give you the quiz question: When Chick Hicks blackmails Fudge into stealing from the RS gang, what does Fudge steal from Sally?**


	38. A Fabulous New Look

**First order of business, c****orrect answer to the quiz question is... her phone.  
**

**Second order of business, Guest, I do like the songs you requested, but unfortunately, song lyrics are against site rules. Just thought I'd let you know in case you think I'm deliberately ignoring them.**

**Third order of business, the chapter...**

**Chapter 38- A Fabulous New Look**

The bad news was that Finn and Holley couldn't stay in Radiator Springs for very long before heading off on their next mission. The good news was that the exact same day that they left, Sammy, RJ, Smokey, the Legends and even Herman showed up in town! Fudge couldn't wait to show them the town. While Sammy and RJ had been there before, there were quite a few of them who hadn't. The other good news was what also happened that very same day...

* * *

"It's here!" Fudge exclaimed, rushing towards Lightning and Cruz, who were down by Willy's Butte. She had a huge parcel in her hands and immediately, both race cars stopped what they were doing.

"It's here?" Lightning repeated.

"It's here", the human girl confirmed.

"It's here!" Lightning exclaimed excitedly. "All right! We all remember the plan, right?"

"We go to Ramone's", Cruz assured him that she knew.

"And I need to go see Sammy and _then_ go to Ramone's", Fudge chimed in. "And when we're almost done there, I go around town and tell everyone it's time."

Lightning nodded. "Right. Now, let's go!"

* * *

Things began to happen fast. Ramone was free and more than happy to help Lightning and Cruz out (although Lightning refused to let Fudge and Cruz see what was going on with him). Fudge tore off through town, yelling, "It's time, it's time!" whenever she saw one of her friends or family members. They all grinned and made their way to Willy's Butte.

When all of them were ready, Fudge dashed off to get herself prepared. In a short amount of time, everything and everyone was ready. The residents of Radiator Springs, Smokey, the Legends, Tex and Sammy and RJ were gathered by the butte; Fudge, Lightning and Cruz's families and closest friends. Although most of them knew what they were being assembled for, what they _didn't_ know- not even Fudge and Cruz- was that there was a big surprise coming their way too.

* * *

"Welcome, all", Luigi began excitedly, standing in front of the crowd, holding a green flag and looking after Fudge's backpack, "to historic Willy's Butte for today's great exhibition of speed!"

That was Cruz and Fudge's cue. Cruz came flying out of nowhere with Fudge riding on her roof.

"Whoo-hoo!" Cruz hollered while everyone else cheered for them and Herman honked in approval. Both she and Fudge were laughing.

"Yeah!" Fudge whooped with joy as they spun around in a circle.

When Cruz slowed down, everyone caught a glimpse of the new looks that she and Fudge were sporting: their new _racing_ looks. Cruz had wanted to stay yellow, but she now had the word DINOCO written on her hood and her spoiler in shiny dark blue letters. On each of her sides were the Dinoco dinosaur and DINOCO 51 written in the same shiny dark blue paint.

Fudge was wearing a bright yellow full-body racing suit to match Cruz. It had a blue dinosaur and DINOCO 51 printed on the front and the logos of the other Piston Cup sponsors running down her right arm. The suit also had the words FOR DOC HUDSON scrawled across the back. Her new helmet was cobalt blue with FABULOUS FUDGE ROSSI-TOPOLINO written on each side of her head in sparkly golden letters. She had blue goggles and blue and yellow leather gloves too. On her feet were black leather lace-up boots.

"Thanks, guys!" Cruz called out.

"Yeah, thanks!" Fudge chimed in, sliding off Cruz's roof and removing her helmet.

When she removed her helmet, the others got a big shock. They could see that she'd had a haircut from her sister to prevent her hair from getting in her face while she was racing. Now, it stopped just above her shoulders. On top of that, she'd had it dyed too! At the halfway point, her brown hair became cobalt blue. Then it lightened into a light Dinoco blue. Finally, it went yellow at the tips. It kind of looked like Sammy's hair, only with fewer colours. She also wore a blue headband to make sure it was out of her face.

"Fudge! Yer hair's different!" Mater stated the obvious.

"Yeah!" Fudge giggled excitedly and nervously, fingering her newly dyed hair. "I just thought I'd try something new..."

"Well, I didn't think I would like it", Luigi began with a little smile, "but I do! I think you look very beautiful!"

"Nice!" Sammy laughed. "I wonder who inspired you to do that!" She ran her fingers through her own multi-coloured locks. (She and RJ were wearing jeans, sneakers and yellow T-shirts with the Dinoco 51 logo.)

"Thanks, guys!"

Herman came running up to Fudge. "Hi, Herman!" she greeted the goose softly, petting him.

"Is this the same Herman Fudge was terrified of?" Sally wondered, trying and failing to hide a laugh.

Smokey nodded. "The very same."

"But she managed to get on his good side with some dandelions!" Junior added with a laugh.

"He loves dandelions, so now, he loves Fudge", Louise explained.

"Herman knows a friend when he sees one!" River pointed out, nodding to the goose, eating up all of the attention that Fudge was giving him.

Not only were the Legends glad to see Cruz and Fudge as racers, but they were glad to see Fudge was no longer trying too hard around them. They found they liked the real Fudge.

"Nice get-up, kiddos!" Louise commented to Cruz and Fudge.

"You ladies look beautiful!" Sammy added.

"There's my superstar sister!" RJ proclaimed excitedly. As a professional photographer, he fired away with his camera. (The RS gang wanted the press and their cameras out of this event, but felt like they could make an exception for RJ. After all, he _was_ Fudge's brother.) "And Cruz the superstar! You guys look awesome!"

"Pardon me!" Mater's voice called as he squeezed between Sarge and Fillmore. He'd disappeared briefly after seeing their new looks and when he returned, was wearing one of his signature massive hats. This one was a large blue dinosaur with the number 51 on it. "Big hat! Comin' through! Git R done, fifty-one!" he shouted. "Whoo-hoo!"

"Great number!" Smokey declared. "It was McQueen's idea. He felt Hud would've wanted you two to have it."

"I love it!" Cruz announced.

"I couldn't have imagined a more perfect number", Fudge agreed. With her connection to the racing world, ninety-five and fifty-one had always been Fudge's two favourite numbers. However, since Lightning was physically present, it didn't feel right taking his number. Doc, on the other tyre, was only spiritually present, so it felt right to honour him like this. She and Cruz would always be honoured to sport the number fifty-one and were determined to live up to its legacy.

Luigi rushed forward and gave his daughter the biggest hug he could muster. "You look _beautiful_, my angel! You look like a racer! I could not be more proud of you!"

The sixteen-year-old beamed as she returned the hug. "Thanks, Luigi! That means a lot." She grinned at the rest of her family and did a model-like turn jokingly. "So, what does everyone else think of the Fabulous Fudge Rossi-Topolino?!"

Everyone laughed. Most of them replied with, "I think she's fabulous!"

"Give us your best Blue Steel!" Sammy joked.

Fudge laughed and obliged. It wasn't great, but it was fun. She squealed with excitement and did a jump. "Oh, I _love_ it! I love it, I love it,** I _LOVE_ IT!**"

"Oh, it's perfect!" Sally proclaimed, eyeing the two young women. "Both of you! It's very old-school!"

* * *

"Did someone just say _old-school_?!" a familiar voice called out.

With a rev of his engine, Lightning rolled past. He was sporting a new look of his own! In fact, he was no longer red! He was a faded cobalt blue. On his hood was the Rust-Eze logo and on each of his sides were the words FABULOUS LIGHTNING MCQUEEN. He had FOR DOC HUDSON written on his rear bumper. The crowd went wild at the sight of it.

"Oh, my gosh!" Fudge exclaimed as her hand flew up to her mouth and she laughed. She was both amused and deliriously happy. When Lightning had told her and Cruz that he wanted a new paint job to "look the part" as their new crew chief, this wasn't what she'd been expecting at all, but she was beginning to think maybe it should've been. He looked _awesome_! "_Ohhh, yes_!"

"Trying something new!" Sally repeated her words of advice before Lightning left Radiator Springs. "I like it!"

"Shiny new paint!" River yelled.

"Doc's back from college!" Lizzie shouted.

"McQueen! Over here!" RJ called and he snapped some pictures.

"Wow! Subtle", Cruz joked as Lightning joined her and Fudge at the starting line.

"Figured if I'm gonna be your crew chief, I'd better do it in style!" Lightning informed them with a grin.

"Well, then, I think you should've gone for the primer!" Fudge teased, to which Lightning grinned and rolled his eyes.

"What's Mr. Sterling gonna say?" Cruz wondered.

"I'm actually more worried about what _Tex_ is gonna say", Lightning corrected her, "considering he, uh, _bought_ Rust-Eze."

"Wait. _Really_?!" Fudge's eyes widened.

"Really."

"When?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"After the race and I wanted it to be a surprise. It works out well, too. Mr. Sterling said he preferred the mud flap business over the medicated bumper ointment business, anyway." Then, looking over at the crowd, Lightning called out, "Thanks, Tex!"

There was a familiar horn honking as Tex appeared. "I made that Sterling fella a Texas-sized offer!" he announced.

"Just before we begin", Fudge got her family and friends' attention, "I've got something I wanna say. And I don't know how else to say it..." She reached into her backpack and pulled out the pom-poms she used to use at Lightning's races before she was promoted to crew chief. Everyone else began to laugh and cheer.

"I made up a chant for Lightning a couple of years ago", Fudge explained, grinning at Cruz, "so it didn't seem right not to give _you_ one."

"You wrote me a chant?!" The yellow car sounded flattered.

"Well, let's hear it!" Lightning requested excitedly.

"Okay. Well, this'll be the first time even _I've_ heard it out loud, so..." Fudge took a deep breath, ready to begin. Then she yelled, "Ready? Okay!" She started jumping around, her brown, blue and yellow hair flying. Her chant went like this:

"_Yo, Storm! You ready to lose?!_

_"I hope so 'cause here comes Cruz!_

_"Now that McQueen's far too old,_

_"Cruz is gonna win the gold!_

_"Go, Cruz! Go, go, go!_

_"Number one for Dinoco!_

_"Friends with Fudge, McQueen and Sal!_

_"A better racer than Cal!_

_"Too good to race for Sterling!_

_"Ramirez, always winning!_

_"Let me say it nice and loud!_

_"We are gonna make Doc proud!"_

There was a long pause before every single person there burst out laughing.

"You took a couple of digs at some of us there, Fudge!" Lightning chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm just dishing it out!" the human girl laughed.

"And I'm gonna tell Cal what you said about him!" Tex added, amused.

"Eh." Fudge shrugged. "I'm not afraid of Cal."

* * *

"So", Lightning began once everyone had calmed down, looking at Fudge and Cruz, "ready to start training?"

"I don't know", Cruz quipped. "You ready to lose again?"

"Very funny!" Lightning snickered as Fudge hollered, "_Ohhh! Roasted!_" Then the stock car looked at the human girl. "Shouldn't you be getting into position?"

"Actually... I was wondering... Maybe just this once... If I could go with you? You know, for old times' sake?"

For a moment, Lightning hesitated. Then he broke out into a huge grin. "Sure. Why not? If that's all right with you, Cruz."

"Only if Fudge doesn't mind going slow!"

"_Oh_!" Lightning exclaimed as Fudge climbed into a good position on his roof. "Hope you got your fluffy cloud! And your Get Psyched Mix!" he added, looking up at Fudge.

"I hope you got your drip pan!" Cruz fired back.

"Got my drip pan and I've taken my nap", he confirmed jokingly.

"Yeah, we actually had our nap together", Fudge chimed in. She sighed with happiness. "Naps are great."

"Bring it on, old man!" Cruz challenged.

Lightning looked to the Fiat in front of him. "Luigi?"

"Go!" Luigi shouted, jumping to face the other way.

Lightning and Cruz rocketed off with Fudge while everyone else cheered like crazy and RJ took photo after photo. Fudge had a huge grin as she felt the rush of moving two hundred miles an hour with the wind on her face. She always felt free when she went out racing, but she felt it now more than ever. Maybe it was because Lightning had finally learned to trust himself to race with her. Or because she felt on top of the world. Both, she decided.

She also thought about her feelings before Jackson Storm showed up. Thoughts of how she wished she had some friends her own age and friends who appreciated her for who she was. Now, she saw Cruz beside her, whooping with joy as they raced together. Okay, maybe Cruz wasn't her own age, but she was close enough for Fudge- after all, she was still young enough to be Fudge's sister- and she genuinely cared about her. Plus, with Cruz, the Legends and Herman coming into her life along with her new racing friends, Sammy's baby on the way and Doc's presence close by growing stronger and stronger every day, she felt like her family just kept growing. On top of that, her new job seemed even better than her old one; if that was even possible!

"Fudge?" Lightning spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"You've been pretty quiet. Is something wrong?"

"No, no!" she assured him hurriedly. "I was just thinking!"

"About what?"

The sixteen-year-old grinned. "How good it is to be happy."

Lightning grinned too. "Yeah, it feels pretty good, doesn't it?"

Fudge didn't answer. She just smiled.

* * *

Lightning caught up to Cruz and laughed. "You're pretty good on the dirt!" he congratulated her as the two of them performed the "turn right to go left" trick.

"That's right, old man!" Cruz grinned. "I know all your tricks!"

Fudge and Lightning both grinned too. Those words sounded so familiar, which was what gave both of them the same idea.

"Hold on, Fudge!" Lightning whispered before he flung himself off the track, seemingly out of control and giving a loud yell. Fudge yelled out too as they disappeared down a ravine.

Needless to say, Cruz was horrified. She skidded to a stop and peered into the ravine. "Mr. McQueen?! Fudge?!"

At that moment, they leapt out of the ravine, shouting and laughing.

"Not _all_ my tricks, rookie!" Lightning called to her as he roared into the lead.

"Mr. McQueen!" Cruz exclaimed in disbelief, racing to catch him.

**Fourth order of business, I'm sure that last bit was familiar to all of you.**

**Fifth order of business, I like this chapter and I couldn't leave Herman out! XD**

**Sixth order of business, I hope you guys like Fudge's new look! I based the racing suit on designs I've seen for humanised Cruz on Tumblr and I thought the hair dye would be a nice new look for her. (And in case you didn't know the Blue Steel is a reference to the movie _Zoolander_.) I hope you liked her chant too!  
**

****Seventh order of business, **the special occasion I was saving this for was when my new Dinoco 51 T-shirt arrived! So, I'm twinning (tripletting?) with Fudge and Cruz right now!**

******Eighth** order of business**, just some reminders. Reminder 1: Please review. Reminder 2: Next chapter is the last one, so this is your last chance to get questions in for the Q and A.**

**Ninth and final order of business, the final quiz question: What did Fudge give Lightning in the cruising scene of _Life Could Be a Dream_ that he still has in his trailer in _Driven to Win_?**


	39. To the Future (Part 2)

**Nooooo! Why?! We're at the last chapter! *Sniffles***

**Ramone: Oh, dude! Are you crying?**

**Me: No! I'm happy! I loved this story and since _Cars 3_ is my favourite movie, I'm happy to know I feel like I've done it justice in this fic! Sure, I'm sad to see it come to an end and wish I could do it all over again, but I'm glad I finished it and my readers enjoyed it.**

***Red bursts into tears and drives off***

**Me: Red, come back! There's still one chapter left!**

**Lightning: And we gotta reveal the answer to the final quiz question, which is... *Pulls out a child's drawing of the Radiator Springs citizens* A drawing of everyone!**

**Me: That's right! This ****chapter**** was originally part of the last one, but I split it in two! For the last time, please enjoy, guys!**

**Chapter 39: To the Future (Part 2)**

Later that night, Fudge tried to wrestle a hairbrush through her wet, curly hair.

"Fudgie? Are you okay?" Luigi wanted to know, entering the bathroom. He was never going to stop worrying about her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you need help brushing your hair?"

"Yes please!"

Luigi laughed and took the hairbrush from his daughter.

"Do you have your dress?" he asked her.

"Yeah, it's on my bed."

"Okay... How does your hair get knotted so quickly?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I am glad you got your hair cut!"

"Me too. I didn't want it too short. I didn't like it when I had it chin-length when I was ten. But I want it to be short enough to be easy to look after and not in my face while I'm racing. Sammy did a good job."

"Yes she did. You look beautiful, Fudge." Luigi gave her a kiss.

"Thanks, Luigi."

Once her hair was brushed, Fudge went to her room to put the dress Luigi wanted her to wear on. It was cobalt blue and came down to her knees. To go with it, Fudge had shiny cobalt blue flats. When she was fully dressed, she stopped to look at her reflection in the mirror. Not bad. It was a very nice colour. Staring at herself in the mirror made her think about how she felt like a new person now. She felt like a strong, confident young woman, excited for whatever her future held. It was that that reminded her of a song, which she began to sing to her reflection softly. The song was "Real Girl" by Mutya Buena.

"Fudgie?" Luigi got her attention. "We should go."

Fudge grinned. "Let's go." However, before she moved away from the mirror, she whispered to herself, "This one's for you, Doc!"

* * *

As soon as she got over to Flo's, everyone began exclaiming over how nice the human girl looked.

"Fudge, you look gorgeous, honey!" Flo proclaimed.

"You look beautiful!" Lightning added.

"I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress. You look nice!" That was Cruz.

"You know", Ramone began, looking Fudge up and down, "I think that's a good colour on you, Fudge."

"You really think so?" Fudge's face was beginning to go red.

Ramone nodded. "Absolutely."

"Well, thanks!"

* * *

The party was quite a mellow one. Old fifties music was playing while there was a small amount of dancing and cruising. Mostly, everyone milled around the café, talking animatedly and Flo served them all with drinks.

"Has everyone got a drink?" she quizzed them all.

"Yep", the crowd confirmed.

"Sammy? Diet Coke_ again_?" Lightning asked in surprise, noticing that she wasn't drinking Junior's moonshine like the Legends all were along with most of the Radiator Springs residents (Fudge had Fanta and Fillmore had his own organic fuel).

"Yep", the rainbow-haired woman replied simply.

"What's with you lately?" the race car wondered. "You used to be able to drink everyone under the table."

"Yeah!" Ramone chimed in. "You could cream us all in those drinkin' contests we used to have!"

"Yeah, what's going on?" Sarge wondered.

"Is this because of your cancer or...?" Lightning wondered.

Sammy grinned. She knew it was time to tell the Radiator Springs residents. Fudge knew. Smokey and the Legends knew. RJ just found out that morning. She couldn't hide it from the RS gang any longer.

"I'm pregnant, guys."

The RS gang gasped in amazement.

"You _are_?!" Lightning exclaimed. "Wow! Great!"

Sammy's grin expanded. "It _is_ pretty great."

"What's_ pregnant_ mean?" Mater wondered.

"I'm havin' a baby", Sammy explained.

"Dad-gum!" Mater cried excitedly.

"Well, we're all happy for ya, sugar", Flo announced, everyone else echoing.

"Thanks."

"And hey!" Sheriff shouted. "Does this mean our Fudge is gonna be an aunt?"

The rest of the Radiator Springs residents exclaimed, "That's right!", and turned to the aforementioned teen.

"Yep", she confirmed with a smile. "I'm kinda nervous, but mostly excited."

"I am sure you will be a wonderful auntie, Fudgie!" Luigi proclaimed, kissing her forehead.

"Thanks..."

"Wait. Half-aunt or full aunt?" Lightning wondered.

"Let's not overcomplicate this!" Fudge laughed.

"Aunt Fudge", Flo mused softly. "I like that."

"Me too!" Fudge proclaimed.

Sammy beamed. "You're _all_ going to be aunts and uncles!"

* * *

As everyone chattered away about how great Sammy's pregnancy was, Sally grinned at Lightning. "So, if Sammy's having a baby..."

"Don't start!" Lightning teased.

Sally laughed. "Seriously, Stickers!"

"Seriously... You know I've always been busy with the racing and now I got a new job with Fudge and Cruz." He sighed. "I _do_ want one some day, though."

Sally smiled. "Me too."

* * *

Lightning pushed his oil forward, clearing his throat. Everyone turned to face the stock car. "Congratulations, Sammy. Now, we got something else to celebrate here tonight. To Sammy! I think I speak for everyone when I say I couldn't be happier for you!"

"To Sammy!" everyone shouted.

"Now, I would like to propose another toast", Lightning announced. "To Cruz and Fudge." He looked to the two of them and gave a smile, which they returned. "I know what it's like to start a career in racing. And I know you guys do too." He waved a tyre towards the Legends. "It can be exciting and nerve-wracking, but I know they are gonna shake up the racing world. And I wish them the very best of luck and many years of good times on the track."

"To Cruz and Fudge!" everyone yelled while the two racers smiled and seemed to be embarrassed, but were secretly loving the attention.

"And to Lightning McQueen!" Fudge chimed in. "He's got a new job too as our crew chief. _We_ wish _you_ the very best of luck putting up with us and many years of good times doing _that_! We'll try to make you proud."

Lightning smiled. "You already have."

"To Lightning McQueen!"

"And to the future!" Lightning went on. "I don't know what it holds, but I am ready for it and excited."

"To the future!"

"All right. I guess there's one last thing left for me to say and that's..." He took a deep breath. "I think with where we are and what's happened, we should all take a moment... for Doc. Whether you knew him as Doc or Hud, I think we can all agree that he was a great car and none of this would've happened if it wasn't for him. To Doc!"

"To Doc!" everyone else echoed.

Then every single one of them fell silent, thinking about Doc (while Fudge used her headphones to listen to the song "If You Could See Me Now" by The Script). **(AN: That song always makes me think of Lightning and Doc, especially since I first heard it on my way to the movies to see _Cars 3_ for the fifth time.)** Thinking about their favourite memories with him, how he had impacted and influenced them and how things wouldn't be the way they were without him. Feeling his presence nearby told them all that everything was just how it should be.

Fudge gazed up at the star-filled sky and whispered, "Wherever you are, I love you."

* * *

"Mr. McQueen? Can you please tell me what's going on?" Cruz begged.

"Nope. It's a surprise."

"So, we've got our eyes closed and we're about to cross the street. Very good!" Fudge mumbled sarcastically.

It was a couple of days later and the sun was only just rising over Radiator Springs. Lightning, Cruz and Fudge were awake early to get on the road. They had a race coming up in a few days and first, Tex wanted them to check out the new Rust-Eze Racing Center as he'd made changes to it since buying Rust-Eze. Then they would take a brief visit to Thomasville to see Smokey and the Legends again. Plus, Fudge would go with RJ and Sammy for the latter's first ultrasound!

Fudge was excited! She wore her new Dinoco 51 outfit, which she loved. Only, right now, all she cared about was the big surprise that Lightning and Mack were hyping up for her and Cruz. They insisted on making them close their eyes and walk to the middle of Main Street.

"You ready?" Lightning quizzed them with a huge grin.

"That depends!" Fudge responded. "For what?"

"Open your eyes and see for yourself."

When Fudge and Cruz opened their eyes, they widened. In front of them was a brand new trailer! It was mostly blue with CRUZ RAMIREZ AND FUDGE ROSSI-TOPOLINO 51 DINOCO'S DYNAMIC DUO written on it in yellow. (Dinoco's Dynamic Duo was the nickname given to them by the press.) It also had an image of the two of them upside-down, obviously a reference to them flipping over Storm.

"Wow!" Cruz squealed excitedly.

"That looks _awesome_!" Fudge exclaimed, unable to take her eyes off the trailer.

"I love it!" Cruz added.

Lightning smiled. "I was hoping you would. Champions like you two deserve to ride in style!"

"If the inside looks as good as the _outside_, then I'm sure we will!" Fudge declared.

"Well, there's not much on the inside just yet", Lightning informed them. "We thought that was a job for you guys."

"That sounds fun!" Cruz commented, hugging Fudge.

"Yeah, it does!" Fudge agreed. She'd never decorated a trailer, but she'd never been good at any kind of design, whether it be art or fashion. Still, decorating the trailer sounded fun. Then her eyes widened as an idea came to her. "Maybe I could get a beanbag to chill on!"

"Good idea!" Cruz cried enthusiastically and the two immediately launched into discussing ideas on how to style the trailer's interior.

"Tyres coming through!" Luigi called out at that moment as he and Guido drove past, loaded with tyres.

"_Grazie_!" the two racers chorused.

"Got your fuel right here, man!" Fillmore hollered as he and Sarge came through.

"Thanks!" Fudge and Cruz replied in unison.

"Here's your bag, Fudge!" Sally handed Fudge a large bag filled with her racing gear, changes of clothes and toiletries.

"Thank you, Sally!" Fudge recited in a slightly singsong voice.

Mater came racing towards them, sporting the biggest hat of all, complete with details of Lightning, Fudge and Cruz's adventures to train for the Florida 500- the Rust-Eze Racing Center, Fireball Beach, Thunder Hollow, Thomasville, Lightning being crew chief for Cruz and Fudge, the three of them in victory lane with a devastated Jackson Storm looking on. His hat prompted laughter from his friends as he yelled, "I got Fudge's iPod!"

Everyone laughed even more.

"Why don't you put it on for me, Mater?" the sixteen-year-old suggested with a grin.

"Yes, Fudge!" Mater drove off into the trailer to do just that. Although they heard him groan, "Dad-gum technology!", pretty soon, he got the song "Ready to Go (Get Me Out My Mind)" by Panic! At the Disco started.

* * *

"Well, this is it!" Lightning announced, standing next to Fudge and Cruz as the three of them watched the sunrise. "We're heading off on our next big adventure."

"Yep. I can't wait", Cruz added.

Fudge smiled softly as she leaned up against Lightning. "Me neither."

"No matter how many adventures we have together. I always look forward to the next one", Lightning informed the human girl, giving her a hug.

"Me too. You know why?" she quizzed the other two as they made their way inside the trailer, ready to head off on said next big adventure.

Lightning shook his hood. "No. Why?"

"Because life is a highway and I wanna ride it all night long!" Fudge answered with a grin as she let out a little giggle. "You hear me, Monty McQueen? Ride! _Ride_!"

**The End**

**Well, that's it then. My four main stories- _Life Could Be a Dream_, _When Life Gives You Lemons_, _Ride_, _Driven to Win_... They're all over!  
**

**By the way, I deliberately ended both _Ride_ and _Driven to Win_ at sunrise to symbolise new beginnings.**

* * *

**At least we still have the Q and A to look forward to! Here it is!**

**Okay, our first questions are from Colonel Beanbags:**

**How did you all initially feel when finding out Sammy's pregnancy and how happy do you all feel?**

**Lightning: We were all really happy for her, obviously and we all can't wait to meet the baby. It also got me thinking about what kind of future I want with Sally. I am open to having kids with her, but only time will tell if that's gonna happen...**

**Fudge, h****ow do you and Cruz feel to finally have reach your dream? I would like to say keep at the fantastic work and you two will be unstoppable.**

**Cruz and Fudge: Thanks!**

**Cruz: It's awesome! I ****pretty much gave up hope on becoming a racer, but now, it's real and to be a racing alongside my best friend, my life has never been better.**

**Fudge: I feel the same way! I always wondered if there was ever a possibility Lightning would ever let me race again after the accident, but now that he has... It just seems too good to be true! I swear this is all a dream and I'm going to wake up any second!**

**Sammy walks over and slaps Fudge.**

**Fudge: Ow! What did you do that for?!**

**Sammy: Showing you you're not dreaming!**

**Now, SV has some questions for you all:**

**This question is for Flo: When you were part of a show girl group, was it a singing group? If not, what kind of group was it?**

**Flo: Well, it was mostly modelling, but there was some singing involved as well.**

**This question is for Ramone: Since you change your paint job all the time, is purple and yellow your real paint job? If not, what color is your real paint job?**

**Ramone (laughing): My original colour used to be beige, actually.**

**Me and Fudge: You're kidding!**

**Ramone: Nope. I guess that's one of the reasons why I love colours so much! Beige was so boring!**

**I'll say! These questions are for McQueen: When you broke Cruz's trophy, did you really want to break it or did you do it accidentally? Be honest.**

**Lightning (cringing): God, I feel so bad about that. It really was an accident! I'm really sorry, Cruz!**

**Cruz: I've told you, Mr. McQueen. It's all right. I know it was an accident and it reminds me of all the good times we had in those two weeks.**

**Did your fight with Cruz and Fudge remind you of your fight with Mater in Japan back in 2011?**

**Lightning: Not at the time, but when I thought about it later, it definitely did. I felt really bad about that as well. I guess I really need to work on that. I keep lashing out on people I love when I'm stressed.**

**Since your air flaps keep you from flipping, does that mean you can't do Doc's flip move or would you be able to do it?**

**Lightning: I don't know. I've never tried it. I'll have to some day.**

**Cruz and Fudge: Good luck topping us!**

**Lightning: *Rolls eyes***

**How come Mia and Tia were not at your races cheering for you? Are they still fans of you?**

**Lightning: You know, I haven't seen them in a while. I don't really know, but I guess they have just lost interest in me.**

**Fudge: Can't imagine why.**

**Lightning: Well, a lot of people did when Jackson Storm showed up. Besides, they've said they were fans of me, not racing, so maybe they've gone back to movie stars or something.**

**How long are you going to be dark blue?**

**Lightning: I don't know. I haven't really put a deadline on it. If I miss being red, I'll go back to red.**

**Me: You know, I once saw on Tumblr that someone headcanons that Sally makes you change it back.**

**Sally (confused): Why? I like it.**

**Me: Because apparently, you don't want to think of Doc when you're kissing Lightning.**

**Lightning and Sally (disgusted): Thanks for ruining it!**

***Lightning hurries over to Ramone's and returns in his normal red paint job***

**Lightning, now that you're back, we have one more question for you: In a way, your dream of racing for Dinoco has finally come true. How does that make you feel?**

**Lightning: Well, it definitely didn't happen in the way I would've imagined when I was a kid and young racer, dreaming of racing for Dinoco, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love how my racing career has gone so far and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.**

**This question is for you, Fudge your OC and Sammy, if you heard of Harry Potter, have you read all the books, seen all the movies or both?**

**Me: It's not really my thing, but I was forced to watch a couple of the movies a few times.**

**Fudge: Yeah, same.**

**Sammy: I've read the books _and_ seen the movies. They're pretty cool.**

** This question is for Fudge, Sammy, Cruz, McQueen and the Radiator Springs gang: have you guys seen a movie called _Marley and Me_?**

**Cruz: I have. I cried.**

**Fudge: I don't wanna see it! I don't like sad movies involving animals.**

**Sally: Stickers cried at the end too.**

**Lightning: How could you _not_? Only a robot wouldn't! The only part of that movie I liked is one of the characters sounds just like me.**

**Me: That's because you have the same actor.**

**Lightning (confused): Actor?**

**Me: Never mind. Here's two more questions S.v came up with for Fudge, Sammy, Cruz and the Radiator Springs gang: have you guys heard of a video game character named Sonic the Hedgehog?**

**Fudge: I'm not really into video games, but Sonic the Hedgehog's pretty cool! Speed has always appealed to me.**

**Lightning: Yeah, that's why I always liked playing Sonic video games when I was a kid.**

**This question is for Fudge: What cartoons did you watch when you were younger?**

**Fudge: When I wasn't watching any cartoon with race cars, I watched _Dora the Explorer_ and _Thomas the Tank Engine_, stuff like that. I also watched cartoons called _The Backyardigans_ and _Little Robots_. I barely remember _Little Robots_ now, but when I searched it up on YouTube, I realised I'd forgotten how catchy the opening theme is! When I got a little older, I watched cartoons like _SpongeBob_, _Phineas and Ferb_ and _Recess_… I still watch SpongeBob, actually.**

**The following questions are from Emily:**

**Have Doc, Smokey, Louise, River and Junior known each other since they were kids or teenagers?**

**Junior: God, how long has it been?**

**River (trying to remember): Long time.**

**Junior: I think we must've been in our late teens when we met, somethin' like that.**

**Louise: But Smokey's a little bit older than us.**

**Me: How much older?**

**Smokey: I ain't answerin' that!**

**Did Smokey ever have eyes for anyone back in Thomasville? (Like Louise did for Doc, or Hud, as the Legends like to call him!)  
**

**Smokey: A few...**

**Junior: Hundred!**

**River: He wanted them all!**

**Louise: And he thought being the mentor for the Fabulous Hudson Hornet meant he could _have_ them all!**

**Smokey: All right, so I wanted them all, but still, I treated them with nothin' but respect!**

**Legends: That's true.**

**When will Sammy have her baby? And when she does, will she have a boy or a girl, and what will she name him or her?**

**Sammy: The baby is due in November 2017. I know the answers the other questions, but I don't wanna say anything just yet...**

**And last, but most certainly not least, we have some questions from Foxy Hedgehog:**

**(Author) Fudge, what would you say, is the best part of being a Fanfiction Writer?**

**Me: I guess it's a two-way street. I enjoy imagining these scenes and later bringing them to life in my stories and you guys enjoy reading them. Then it goes back the other way and I enjoy reading your reviews. Reviews always make my day, so even if I've never replied to yours personally, please know that I see them and I appreciate every single one!**

**Who, or what, would you say is your biggest inspiration for being a Fanfiction Writer?**

**Me: Well, I've always liked writing and ever since I was little, I would imagine myself hanging out with the characters from my favourite movies and TV shows. So, when I was introduced to fanfiction by a cousin, I knew it was perfect for me!**

**I used to write short stories in exercise books. I was inspired by the oneshots written by CarsCars2Fanatic to do that.**

**Now, it is my many awesome readers and reviewers like you, Foxy Hedgehog, who inspire me to keep writing. So, thanks, guys!**

**Cruz and Fudge. What was it like for you two, when you were working together in the big race?**

**Cruz: Well, as you know, it didn't get off to the best start.**

**Fudge: Yeah, I think we were caught off guard more than anything, I mean, we hadn't really had a chance to prepare for it. That's why we didn't start off so well.**

**Cruz: But luckily, once Mr. McQueen was able to get through to us, we were able to not only focus, but it gave us the confidence to race together and help each other.**

**Fudge: After that, we fell into a rhythm and it was pretty exciting. That was our first time racing together and we found we work really well together.**

**Cruz: I can't believe I didn't think of getting a rider earlier. I feel like I work better with Fudge than I do on my own.**

**Fudge: And obviously, I race better with Cruz too! *Laughs***

**Lightning, how did it feel to you, when you were being the Crew Chief for Fudge and Cruz?**

**Lightning: You know, I wasn't even really thinking when I got on that platform. I didn't think about this possibly being a career for me or anything. I just had to guide the girls through their race. You saw how nervous they were and Smokey wasn't getting through to them, so I did what I had to do.**

**Fudge: And we're very grateful for that.**

**Lightning: Well, I understand you guys. After all, I've been teaching you about racing for over ten years now. I know what approaches work and what approaches don't. Now, in hindsight, I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I could help them win and I found something else that makes me happy!**

**Me: Now, _I_ have a question for Herman: Why do you hate Fudge so much?**

**Herman: Honk!**

**Me: Well, I guess that just about sums it up. ****Thank you to everyone who asked questions.**

* * *

**Next thing is to reveal the Easter Eggs!**

**1\. 616 (the official release date for _Cars 3_ and, on a side note, Fudge's birthday!): the time it was when Cruz and Fudge head off to Thunder Hollow.**

**2\. ****624 (the day I saw _Cars 3_ at the movies for the first time): Lightning's hospital room number after the crash**

**3\. A113: the entrance Smokey and Sammy enter the pits from at the Florida 500.**

**Did you spot them?**

* * *

**As I did with Ride, I want to dedicate this story to my faithful readers and reviewers, including (again, in no particular order): Colonel Beanbags, S.V. Dinosaur Imperial Soldier, ****kristinalprime23 and Foxy Hedgehog! You guys are my Cruz Ramirez! You guys inspire me to keep writing and keep posting! Now, _this_ is my most reviewed story and I never imagined I'd get this many reviews; it's awesome! So, thanks, guys!**

**I also ****want to dedicate this story to all of the _Cars_ voice actors, who are no longer with us:**

**Joe Ranft (Red): 1960-2005**

**George Carlin (Fillmore): 1937-2008**

**Paul Newman (Doc Hudson): 1925-2008**

**Tom Magliozzi (Rusty Rust-Eze): 1937-2014**

**Lynda Petty (Mrs. The King): ?-2014**

**Katherine Helmond (Lizzie): 1929-2019**

**Junior Johnson (Junior Moon): 1931-2019**

**RIP, guys! :(**

* * *

**On a more positive note, I just want to say thanks again for the reviews and support! I loved this story and I'm glad you guys did too! And I just want you to know that this isn't the end! The story of Cruz and Fudge racing is going to continue in the _Cars Origins_ trilogy, but that won't be up for a while. I only have rough ideas for that right now.**

***Turns to all of the characters from_ Driven to Win_* Come on, guys! Let's take a bow! I think we've earned it!**

***They all approach***

***I shove Sterling, Jackson Storm, Zara and Layla away***** Not you!**

***Everyone else bows with me while readers clap, cheer and whistle***

* * *

**French _SpongeBob_ narrator: Two hours later...**

***I'm stood in empty theatre as a janitor sweeps the floor***

**Janitor: What are you doing? The show ended two hours ago!**

**Me: I don't wanna leave.**

**Janitor: I'm trying to clean here!**

**Me: All right, all right. I'm going. *Starts walking out, but stops and turns around in exit, raising my arm* Thanks, guys! See you soon!**

***Walks out***


End file.
